Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases New Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 325,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,858,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 99.5% during the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Avantor by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Avantor by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Avantor in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AVTR traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $15.59. The stock had a trading volume of 2,946,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,952,433. The firm has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50 day moving average price is $16.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07. Avantor, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.80 and a twelve month high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of Avantor 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,531,753.87. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.82.

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.