Avantor Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AVTR)

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 29,996 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 463% compared to the average volume of 5,332 put options.

Avantor Stock Performance

NYSE:AVTR traded up $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $22.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,999,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,118,420. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.36. The stock has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.28. Avantor has a 52-week low of $19.59 and a 52-week high of $28.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Avantor by 6.8% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 22,927,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463,695 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Avantor by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,368,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,666,000 after purchasing an additional 8,206,695 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Avantor by 18.2% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 17,692,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719,615 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Avantor by 7.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,150,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,791,000 after purchasing an additional 739,667 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Avantor by 1,634.9% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,530,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,839,000 after purchasing an additional 8,038,451 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVTR. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.69.

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.