Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Avantor (NYSE:AVTR)

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 26,227 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 384% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,419 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AVTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Avantor from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Avantor from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.46.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Avantor by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Avantor by 69.6% in 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 period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Avantor by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 89.9% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR opened at $21.89 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.46. Avantor has a 52-week low of $19.59 and a 52-week high of $28.00. The company has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

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.