Broyhill Asset Management, an investment advisor, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Broyhill Equity Composite declined 6.0% in the first quarter, net of all fees and expenses, lagging the MSCI All Country World Index, which declined 3.1%. After a strong start to the year, global stocks fell sharply following the strikes on Iran. The firm’s defensive strategy, with nearly half the portfolio invested in noncyclical sectors, failed to provide the historical protection in the quarter. The portfolio underperformed in the quarter because of its high exposure to non-cyclical industries, lack of energy investments, and over half of its investments are made outside the United States. In addition, please check the Portfolio’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Broyhill Asset Management highlighted Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR). Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) provides mission-critical products and services to biotechnology, education, and pharmaceutical companies. On May 15, 2026, Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) closed at $7.62 per share. One-month return of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was -10.35%, and its shares lost 42.96% over the past 52 weeks. Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion.
Broyhill Asset Management stated the following regarding Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) made our list of detractors for the last time in the first quarter. The destocking cycle has run far longer than we initially modeled, but the bigger issue was self-inflicted. Successive management teams failed to defend the share against Thermo Fisher. After swapping half of our position for Thermo last year, we took our remaining lumps and redeployed the capital into Sotera Health, where litigation fears have created an opportunity to own a mission-critical sterilization duopoly at a meaningful discount to intrinsic value.”
Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 40 hedge fund portfolios held Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 50 in the previous quarter. In Q1 2026, Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) reported $1.58 billion of revenue, which was down 4% on an organic basis and flat year-over-year on a reported basis. While we acknowledge the potential of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
