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

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 48,044 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,025% compared to the typical volume of 4,270 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other news, Director Sanjeev K. Mehra purchased 350,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.09 per share, with a total value of $3,881,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,500. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sector Gamma AS grew its stake in Avantor by 28.0% in the third quarter. Sector Gamma AS now owns 477,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,954,000 after purchasing an additional 104,466 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 3rd quarter worth about $228,528,000. Voss Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,057,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 3rd quarter valued at 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 buying an additional 58,304 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Avantor

Here are the key news stories impacting Avantor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat on key consensus figures: Q4 revenue of $1.66B and adjusted EPS of $0.22 topped analyst estimates, and adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow remained positive — supportive for near‑term fundamentals. Avantor Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management outlined a “revival” program (VWR relaunch, supply‑chain/manufacturing fixes, e‑commerce upgrades) that, if executed, could improve margins and organic growth over time. Avantor Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released the Q4 earnings slide deck and full earnings-call transcript — useful for investors to assess cadence, guidance color and cost actions. 2025 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst writeups (Zacks, MSN) provide quick metric comparisons and context on the quarter’s beats vs. year‑ago declines — helpful but not new company guidance. AVTR Q4 Earnings: Key Metrics vs Estimates Avantor reports Q4: Everything you need to know
• Negative Sentiment: Large bearish derivatives flow: unusually heavy put buying (48,044 put contracts) signals traders are positioning for further downside or volatility. (Reported activity on earnings day.)
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose sharply in January (~25% increase to ~37.7M shares, ~5.6% of float), intensifying downward pressure and raising the risk of continued pessimism.
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying operational/headline negatives: full‑year GAAP net loss and a one‑year organic sales decline (~3–4%), plus a negative net margin — these factors temper enthusiasm despite the quarter’s beat. Avantor Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVTR traded down $1.80 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.37. 20,199,076 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,166,149. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -72.01, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.49 and its 200-day moving average is $12.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Avantor has a one year low of $8.90 and a one year high of $18.36.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. Avantor had a negative net margin of 1.25% and a positive return on equity of 10.91%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on AVTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down previously from $14.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore set a $12.00 target price on Avantor and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Avantor from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Avantor presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.60.

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.