Short Interest in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Rises By 21.1%

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 32,680,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the January 31st total of 26,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of AVTR stock opened at $16.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Avantor has a one year low of $15.37 and a one year high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVTR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Avantor by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 188,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avantor by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 24,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Avantor by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Avantor by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 99,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Company Profile

Avantor, Inc engages in the provision of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education and government, advanced technologies, and applied materials industries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers materials and consumables, such as purity chemicals and reagents, lab products and supplies, formulated silicone materials, customized excipients, customized single-use assemblies, process chromatography resins and columns, analytical sample prep kits, education and microbiology products, clinical trial kits, peristaltic pumps, and fluid handling tips.