Avantor Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AVTR)

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 79,800 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,243% compared to the typical volume of 5,940 put options.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of AVTR stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.75. 9,879,029 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,464,417. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Avantor has a 52-week low of $19.11 and a 52-week high of $28.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.61 and a 200 day moving average of $24.03. The company has a market cap of $14.12 billion, a PE ratio of 45.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.06, for a total transaction of $88,336.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,372.64. This trade represents a 10.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Avantor in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,707,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the second quarter worth $76,412,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Avantor by 18.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 353,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,044,000 after buying an additional 55,129 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Avantor in the second quarter worth about $642,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Avantor in the third quarter worth about $8,473,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AVTR shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.57.

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.