Sector Gamma AS Purchases 218,299 Shares of Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Sector Gamma AS boosted its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 45.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 695,403 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 218,299 shares during the quarter. Avantor comprises 1.8% of Sector Gamma AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Sector Gamma AS’s holdings in Avantor were worth $7,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 0.3% during the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 117,746,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,481,000 after buying an additional 313,404 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Avantor by 1.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,988,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $823,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,279 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Avantor by 10.8% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 34,548,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,161,000 after purchasing an additional 3,356,861 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its stake in Avantor by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 20,500,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,937,000 after purchasing an additional 2,189,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Avantor by 0.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,053,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,346,000 after purchasing an additional 119,508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVTR opened at $9.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Avantor, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.26 and a 12 month high of $15.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.34 and a 200-day moving average of $9.63. The company has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.97.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other news, Director Gregory T. Lucier purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.32 per share, with a total value 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Simon Dingemans purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.14 per share, with a total value of $203,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $203,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVTR. Zacks Research upgraded Avantor from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Avantor from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $11.00 target price on Avantor in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avantor presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.57.

About Avantor

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.