Traders Buy High Volume of Avantor Put Options (NYSE:AVTR)

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 48,044 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,025% compared to the typical volume of 4,270 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVTR shares. Raymond James Financial lowered Avantor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $11.00 price objective on Avantor in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $10.00 target price on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore set a $12.00 price target on shares of Avantor and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.09.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR opened at $9.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.78. Avantor has a 52-week low of $8.90 and a 52-week high of $18.36. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.42 and its 200-day moving average is $12.26.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Avantor had a negative net margin of 8.09% and a positive return on equity of 10.45%. Avantor’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.770-0.830 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Avantor will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Avantor

Here are the key news stories impacting Avantor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director purchase — Avantor director Gregory L. Summe bought 100,000 shares at ~$9.40, increasing his stake by 33%; insider buying can signal management confidence and provide some investor support. Insider Purchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported Q4 results that beat consensus on adjusted EPS ($0.22 vs $0.21) and slightly beat revenue estimates ($1.66B vs $1.64B), and generated positive operating/free cash flow — but sales were down year-over-year. PR Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Company provided detailed commentary and a slide deck on its “revival program” (VWR relaunch, supply-chain and e‑commerce initiatives) — important for longer-term execution but unlikely to reverse near-term pressure immediately. Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Lower FY2026 EPS guidance (0.77–0.83) vs consensus (~0.90) — the guidance miss is the primary catalyst for the drop, signaling continued margin and revenue pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and analyst commentary flagged margin compression and slipping organic sales as risks; one coverage note highlighted the shares plunging after the report. Zacks: Stock Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put buying (≈48k puts) shows elevated bearish/options hedging interest — increases downside pressure and volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: 2025 profit swing to a GAAP net loss underscores near-term execution/earnings risk despite adjusted profit metrics; analysts and investors will watch management’s recovery plan closely. Yahoo: Profit Swing

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other Avantor news, Director Sanjeev K. Mehra purchased 350,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $3,881,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gregory L. Summe acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.40 per share, for a total transaction of $940,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,760,000. This trade represents a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sector Gamma AS raised its position in shares of Avantor by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sector Gamma AS now owns 477,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,954,000 after acquiring an additional 104,466 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $228,528,000. Voss Capital LP acquired a new stake in Avantor during the second quarter worth approximately $6,057,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new stake in Avantor in the third quarter worth approximately $1,248,000. Finally, Tredje AP fonden increased its holdings in Avantor by 110.7% in the second quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 110,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 58,304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Company Profile

Avantor, Inc (NYSE:AVTR) is a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. The company delivers essential solutions that support research, development, production and safety applications. Its product portfolio spans from high-purity chemicals and reagents to biologics and cell culture media, as well as lab equipment, consumables and custom manufacturing services.

Avantor’s offerings are organized across two primary segments.