Engine Capital Management LP Has $155.08 Million Position in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Engine Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 65.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,780,830 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,853,018 shares during the period. Avantor accounts for approximately 18.7% of Engine Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Engine Capital Management LP’s holdings in Avantor were worth $155,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AVTR. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Avantor by 119.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Avantor by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 60.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVTR. Citigroup upped their target price on Avantor from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Avantor from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Avantor in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Avantor from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Avantor has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $10.62.

Avantor Trading Up 3.1%

AVTR opened at $11.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a PE ratio of -14.56, a PEG ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.80 and a 200-day moving average of $9.39. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.26 and a 52 week high of $15.93.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, Director Simon Dingemans purchased 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.14 per share, for a total transaction of $203,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $203,500. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory T. Lucier purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.32 per share, with a total value of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at $499,200. This represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.