Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,570,000 shares, an increase of 20.6% from the December 15th total of 24,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,720,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avantor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.38.

Avantor Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AVTR traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.14. 6,042,606 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,101,021. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.54. Avantor has a twelve month low of $19.59 and a twelve month high of $28.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.13, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.37.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new position in Avantor during the third quarter worth $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Avantor by 69.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Avantor by 89.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in Avantor by 278.0% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 5,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Avantor

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.