Engine Capital Management LP Sells 7,792,618 Shares of Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Engine Capital Management LP cut its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 39.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,927,812 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,792,618 shares during the quarter. Avantor accounts for 18.9% of Engine Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Engine Capital Management LP’s holdings in Avantor were worth $136,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 119.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Avantor by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Avantor during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Avantor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Avantor by 60.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other news, Director Gregory T. Lucier acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.32 per share, with a total value of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 60,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,200. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Simon Dingemans acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.14 per share, with a total value of $203,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,500. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Stock Performance

NYSE AVTR opened at $9.46 on Thursday. Avantor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.26 and a 12-month high of $15.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.57. The company has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 8.42%.The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVTR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Avantor in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $9.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avantor from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Avantor to an “underperform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.57.

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.