Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Short Interest Up 20.6% in December

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of 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 trading volume, of 5,720,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.2 days.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.14. 6,042,606 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,101,021. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.28. Avantor has a 12 month low of $19.59 and a 12 month high of $28.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVTR. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday. Barclays lowered their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Avantor by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,368,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,666,000 after acquiring an additional 8,206,695 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Avantor by 1,634.9% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,530,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,839,000 after purchasing an additional 8,038,451 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Avantor by 653.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,174,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,740,000 after purchasing an additional 5,354,678 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Avantor by 557.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,675,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,950,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963,912 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new stake in Avantor during the second quarter worth about $76,412,000. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.