Avantor Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AVTR)

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 25,142 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,067% compared to the average daily volume of 2,155 call options.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In related news, Director Simon Dingemans purchased 25,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.14 per share, for a total transaction of $203,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregory T. Lucier purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.32 per share, for a total transaction of $83,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,200. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Avantor by 41.2% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 278,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,757,000 after acquiring an additional 81,200 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Avantor by 425.0% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,513,000 after purchasing an additional 450,801 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Avantor by 93.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 22,491 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Avantor by 372.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 7,151 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVTR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Avantor from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore set a $10.50 price target on Avantor in a research report on Monday, July 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $10.50 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.62.

Avantor Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE AVTR opened at $10.97 on Wednesday. Avantor has a 1 year low of $7.26 and a 1 year high of $15.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.40. The firm has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 8.42%.The business’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avantor will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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.