Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Position in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its Avantor stake by 91.5% in the fourth quarter, selling more than 2.5 million shares and leaving it with 239,198 shares worth about $2.74 million.
• Avantor reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.17 versus the $0.16 estimate and revenue of $1.58 billion versus $1.54 billion expected.
• Despite the earnings beat, Wall Street remains cautious: analysts currently rate the stock a Hold on average, with a consensus price target of $10.82, while the shares recently traded around $8.11.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 91.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,198 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,589,498 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Avantor were worth $2,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. Greenhaven Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Avantor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $228,528,000. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new position in Avantor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $159,669,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 122.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,495,095 shares of the company's stock worth $100,884,000 after acquiring an additional 4,119,522 shares during the period. Voss Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 905.6% during the 3rd quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 4,525,000 shares of the company's stock worth $56,472,000 after acquiring an additional 4,075,000 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 278.0% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,493,677 shares of the company's stock worth $68,561,000 after acquiring an additional 4,040,154 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Avantor Stock Down 0.2%

AVTR stock opened at $8.11 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $7.94 and a 200 day moving average of $9.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of -10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.94. Avantor, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.26 and a twelve month high of $15.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 8.42%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory T. Lucier bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were 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 approximately $499,200. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Simon Dingemans purchased 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $203,500. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 160,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,287,950 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Avantor News

Here are the key news stories impacting Avantor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted its FY2027 EPS estimate for Avantor to $0.84 from $0.82 and increased FY2028 EPS to $0.91 from $0.84, suggesting improved longer-term earnings potential.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also raised Q2 2027 EPS to $0.19 from $0.16 and Q4 2027 EPS to $0.23 from $0.22, reinforcing expectations for better profitability further out.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research maintained a Hold rating on Avantor, indicating the updates were not strong enough to trigger a more bullish stance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus full-year EPS expectations remain at $0.79, so the analyst changes are incremental rather than a major reset in outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term estimates were cut for FY2026 to $0.78 from $0.81, Q2 2026 to $0.19 from $0.20, Q3 2026 to $0.20 from $0.21, and Q1 2027 to $0.19 from $0.21, which may temper enthusiasm around immediate earnings momentum.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AVTR shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Avantor from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $10.50 target price on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $10.00 target price on Avantor in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Avantor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avantor presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.82.

Avantor 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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