Is Avantor (AVTR) A Wise Investment Choice?

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, published its “SMID Cap Growth Strategy” third quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. During the third quarter, the ClearBridge SMID Cap Growth Strategy outperformed the benchmark Russell 2500 Growth Index. On an absolute basis, the Strategy had gains across five of the 10 sectors in which it was invested during the quarter (out of 11 sectors total), with the health care sector the leading contributor and the consumer discretionary sector being the main detractor. You can take a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to have an idea about their best picks for 2021.

ClearBridge SMID Cap Growth Strategy, in its Q3 2021 investor letter, mentioned Avantor, Inc. (NYSE: AVTR) and discussed its stance on the firm. Avantor, Inc. is a Radnor Township, Pennsylvania-based chemicals, and materials company with a $25.1 billion market capitalization. AVTR delivered a 46.86% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 54.37%. The stock closed at $41.34 per share on December 28, 2021.

Here is what ClearBridge SMID Cap Growth Strategy has to say about Avantor, Inc.  in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“Avantor, which distributes proprietary, higher-margin consumables products to life science research companies, has benefited from accretive research & development as well as paying down debt, which has contributed to increased margins and strong stock performance.”

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Based on our calculations, Avantor, Inc. (NYSE: AVTR) was not able to clinch a spot in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. AVTR was in 53 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 44 funds in the previous quarter. Avantor, Inc. (NYSE: AVTR) delivered a 2.33% return in the past 3 months.

Earlier this month, we published an article regarding AVTR being part of the 5 Best Healthcare Stocks to Buy According to Greg Martinez’s Parkman Healthcare Partners. You can find more than 100 investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q3 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.