Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys New Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 325,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,858,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVTR. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Avantor by 27.5% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 50,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 10,980 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in Avantor in the third quarter worth approximately $2,586,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in Avantor in the third quarter valued at approximately $21,365,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 146.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,628,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,996,000 after buying an additional 1,562,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $555,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVTR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.82.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVTR opened at $15.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.15. Avantor, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.80 and a twelve month high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.