Investors Purchase High Volume of Avantor Call Options (NYSE:AVTR)

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 19,262 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 163% compared to the average daily volume of 7,332 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Avantor from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Avantor from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Avantor from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.21.

Avantor Price Performance

AVTR opened at $25.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.01. Avantor has a twelve month low of $16.63 and a twelve month high of $28.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $17.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.15, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.32.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. Avantor had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Equities analysts expect that Avantor will post 1.01 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Avantor by 2,003.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 565.5% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Avantor by 1,830.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Avantor during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avantor Company Profile

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.