Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Short Interest Update

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

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of AVTR stock opened at $22.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.28. Avantor has a one year low of $19.59 and a one year high of $28.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.45 and its 200 day moving average is $23.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Avantor by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new position in shares of Avantor during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Avantor by 69.6% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Avantor by 89.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in Avantor by 278.0% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 5,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.