Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Has $5.58 Million Stake in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong boosted its Avantor stake by 54.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 486,565 shares worth about $5.58 million.
• Several other hedge funds also increased or initiated positions, and institutional investors now own 95.08% of Avantor’s shares.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries a “Reduce” consensus rating with an average price target of $10.57, even though Avantor recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates.

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd increased its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 54.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 486,565 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 171,679 shares during the period. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of Avantor worth $5,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVTR. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Avantor during the fourth quarter worth $12,734,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 209,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,404,000 after buying an additional 44,686 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Avantor by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 576,959 shares of the company's stock worth $6,612,000 after acquiring an additional 131,186 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avantor by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 581,330 shares of the company's stock worth $6,662,000 after acquiring an additional 218,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fieldview Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVTR. Citigroup cut their price target on Avantor from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Avantor in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Avantor from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wolfe Research cut Avantor to an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $10.57.

Avantor Stock Down 1.4%

Avantor stock opened at $9.57 on Wednesday. Avantor, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.26 and a fifty-two week high of $15.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $8.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.59. The stock has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of -11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.97.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Avantor had a negative net margin of 8.42% and a positive return on equity of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory T. Lucier acquired 10,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.32 per share, for a total transaction of $83,200.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 60,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,200. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Simon Dingemans bought 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.14 per share, with a total value of $203,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Avantor Company Profile

Avantor, Inc NYSE: AVTR is a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. The company delivers essential solutions that support research, development, production and safety applications. Its product portfolio spans from high-purity chemicals and reagents to biologics and cell culture media, as well as lab equipment, consumables and custom manufacturing services.

Avantor's offerings are organized across two primary segments.

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