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

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 26,990,000 shares, a drop of 6.1% from the January 15th total of 28,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Avantor Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Avantor stock traded down $0.15 on Thursday, hitting $17.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,236,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,524,281. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. Avantor has a twelve month low of $17.14 and a twelve month high of $28.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.16 and a 200-day moving average of $23.05.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avantor has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 69.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Avantor by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. 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.