Brokerages Set Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Target Price at $17.60

Key Points

• A consensus recommendation from five brokerages has rated Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) as a "Strong Sell."
• The average 12-month price target set by analysts for Afya's stock is $17.60, with recent adjustments including UBS Group raising its price target to $19.50.
• Institutional investors have increased their stakes significantly, with Doma Perpetual Capital Management raising its stake by 92.3%, highlighting strong institutional interest despite the negative outlook.

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.40.

A number of analysts have commented on AFYA shares. Citigroup upgraded Afya from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $19.50 target price (up from $17.50) on shares of Afya in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Afya from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday.

Afya Price Performance

Shares of Afya stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 136,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,635. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Afya has a 12-month low of $13.47 and a 12-month high of $19.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.32.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Afya

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Afya in the fourth quarter valued at $329,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Afya by 2,115.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 6,369 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Afya in the fourth quarter valued at $829,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Afya by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 412,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,543,000 after purchasing an additional 50,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Afya by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 31,262 shares of the company's stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 2,079 shares during the last quarter. 88.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Afya

Afya Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a medical education group in Brazil. The company operates through three segments: Undergrad, Continuing Education, and Digital Services. It offers educational products and services, including medical schools, medical residency preparatory courses, graduate courses, and other programs to lifelong medical learners enrolled across its distribution network, as well as to third-party medical schools.