Avantor Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AVTR)

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 10,013 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 55% compared to the average volume of 6,469 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.40.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.06, for a total value of $88,336.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $740,372.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 28,561,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,298,000 after purchasing an additional 624,369 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Avantor by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 22,927,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,059,000 after buying an additional 1,463,695 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in Avantor by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 9,120,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,109,000 after buying an additional 1,180,937 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Avantor by 1,634.9% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,530,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,839,000 after acquiring an additional 8,038,451 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,099,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,544,000 after acquiring an additional 297,534 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avantor Stock Performance

Avantor stock opened at $25.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.86 and its 200 day moving average is $24.20. The company has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.49, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.32. Avantor has a twelve month low of $16.63 and a twelve month high of $28.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 5.28%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avantor will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.