Short Interest in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Drops By 7.9%

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,090,000 shares, a drop of 7.9% from the September 30th total of 35,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup cut Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $30.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.06, for a total transaction of $88,336.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $740,372.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Avantor by 113.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,497,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,026 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Avantor during the first quarter valued at about $2,707,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $908,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 42.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 309,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,911,000 after purchasing an additional 92,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avantor by 44.6% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,791,000 after purchasing an additional 322,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.37. 5,943,940 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,441,773. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a PE ratio of 57.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.19. Avantor has a 52 week low of $17.06 and a 52 week 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 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.