Avantor’s Plunge and the $23M Gamble

I’ve never been good with money, but even I can see that Avantor’s stock has taken a nosedive. A 46% drop over the past year? That’s like watching your ex’s new partner steal your favorite sweater and then throw it into a washing machine full of bleach. Yet here we are, with Kinney Asset Management-ever the thrill-seekers-throwing $23 million at the company, which is like buying a lottery ticket with your last dollar.

What Happened

Kinney, that paragon of financial wisdom, added 470,000 Avantor shares, boosting their stake by $4.52 million. The SEC filing is a masterpiece of bureaucratic jargon, but the real story is the fund’s newfound obsession with a company that’s about as reliable as a toaster in a hurricane. Now they hold 1.85 million shares, worth $23.03 million, making Avantor their largest bet since they last tried to invest in a “moonshot” (which turned out to be a poorly timed trip to the moon).

What Else to Know

The Avantor stake now eats up 34.3% of the fund’s assets, which is like having a roommate who only cooks ramen and insists it’s “authentic.” Their other holdings? ALIT and MHK, both of which are probably just as exciting as Avantor, but with fewer existential crises. The fund’s portfolio is a veritable circus of underperformers, which is either bold or reckless-depending on whether you’re betting on a comeback or a crash.

As for Avantor itself, shares are trading at $11.52, down so hard they’re practically begging for a rescue mission. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up 16.5%, which is the market’s version of a condescending pat on the back.

Company Overview

Metric	Value
Price (as of Friday)	$11.52
Market capitalization	$7.85 billion
Revenue (TTM)	$6.58 billion
Net income (TTM)	($82.2 million)

Company Snapshot

Avantor sells lab supplies, which is like being the guy who brings the snacks to a meeting-essential, but no one really cares until they’re out of chips.
Their revenue comes from selling stuff they make and stuff they don’t, plus services that sound important but probably involve a lot of paperwork.
They serve everyone from scientists to governments, which is impressive until you realize they’re just reselling the same chemicals to different countries.

Avantor is a global giant in “mission-critical” products, which is just a fancy way of saying they’re the ones who show up when your lab’s on fire. But even they can’t outrun a 46% stock drop. Or a bad quarter, which saw revenue fall 5% and a $785 million goodwill write-down that’s probably still haunting their balance sheet.

Foolish Take

Avantor is deep in a reset, and the market is still pricing it like the damage is ongoing. The CEO is optimistic, which is always a good sign when they start buying back shares. It’s like when your friend says they’re going to get fit, but all they do is stare at the gym membership in the drawer. The fund’s other holdings are also cyclical and out of favor, which is either a masterstroke or a gamble with a 50-50 chance of ending in a dumpster fire.

For long-term investors, Avantor is still risky, but if the company can stabilize, the recurring revenue and cash flow might just make the gamble worth it. Or it might not. Either way, it’s a story worth watching-like a train wreck, but with more spreadsheets.

Glossary

13F reportable assets under management (AUM): The SEC’s way of saying “show us your money.”

Alpha: What you get when you’re not paying attention.

Trailing twelve months (TTM): The 12 months you wish you could forget.

Net addition: The increase in the number of shares or value of a holding after accounting for purchases and sales.

Stake: The ownership interest or percentage a fund or investor holds in a company.

Equity investment: An ownership interest in a company, typically through the purchase of its stock.

Market value: The current total value of a holding, calculated by multiplying the number of shares by the share price.

Bioprocessing solutions: Products and services used in the manufacturing of biological products, such as vaccines or therapeutic proteins.

Consumables: Items that are used up during laboratory or industrial processes, such as reagents, filters, or pipette tips.

Proprietary products: Goods developed and owned by a company, often protected by patents or trade secrets.

Value-added services: Additional services provided to enhance the core product offering, such as on-site support or custom solutions.

Distribution network: The system a company uses to deliver its products to customers across various regions or markets.

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2026-01-02 21:32