Royce & Associates LP Acquires Shares of 41,403 Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 41,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $671,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in Avantor in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Avantor by 121.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Avantor by 52.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Avantor by 19.8% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in Avantor in the first quarter valued at about $112,000. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AVTR. Cowen lowered Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Avantor from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Avantor from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avantor presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregory L. Summe purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,250,000. This trade represents a 42.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders bought 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $928,000 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avantor Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:AVTR opened at $14.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.05. Avantor, Inc. has a one year low of $11.82 and a one year high of $28.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.12.

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.