Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 28,370,000 shares, a drop of 13.2% from the February 13th total of 32,680,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days. Currently, 4.2% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.50.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.61. 11,571,838 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,328,624. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.69. Avantor has a 52 week low of $15.37 and a 52 week high of $28.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avantor will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Avantor by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,972,000 after purchasing an additional 88,205 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company's stock worth $37,228,000 after purchasing an additional 493,408 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avantor during the fourth quarter valued at about $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Avantor by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company's stock worth $40,504,000 after buying an additional 33,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in Avantor by 45.8% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 723,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,708,000 after acquiring an additional 227,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company's stock.

About Avantor

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.