Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Acquires 131,186 Shares of Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management increased its stake in Avantor by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 131,186 shares and bringing its total holding to 576,959 shares worth about $6.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with 95.08% of Avantor’s stock held by institutions; several other firms also raised their positions, including Royal Bank of Canada and Arrowstreet Capital.
• Analysts remain cautious on AVTR, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.57, even after the company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 29.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 576,959 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 131,186 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Avantor worth $6,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Avantor by 104.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 203,738 shares of the company's stock worth $3,302,000 after acquiring an additional 104,022 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,659 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 5,075 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 40.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 40,289 shares of the company's stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 11,543 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 2nd quarter worth $232,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 124,076 shares of the company's stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 84,679 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AVTR. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Avantor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, May 14th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avantor presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $10.57.

Avantor Price Performance

NYSE:AVTR opened at $9.38 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.57, a PEG ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.97. Avantor, Inc. has a one year low of $7.26 and a one year high of $15.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $8.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The business's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory T. Lucier acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.32 per share, for a total transaction of $83,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at $499,200. This represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Simon Dingemans acquired 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.14 per share, with a total value of $203,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,500. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate 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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