Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Upgraded by UBS Group to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Afya has been upgraded by UBS Group from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating, with a price target set at $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.33% from its previous close.
• Institutional investors own 88.02% of Afya's stock, with several firms, including the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio and Tower Research Capital, significantly increasing their positions.
• Comparatively, Afya's average rating among analysts stands at "Hold," with a current average target price of $18.20.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $19.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $19.50. UBS Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 25.08% from the company's previous close.

AFYA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research upgraded Afya to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup upgraded Afya from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $16.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $17.50 price target on Afya and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Afya from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.20.

Afya Price Performance

NASDAQ:AFYA traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $15.19. 41,484 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 88,352. Afya has a 52-week low of $13.47 and a 52-week high of $19.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $15.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFYA. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Afya by 4.4% during the first quarter. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC now owns 592,220 shares of the company's stock worth $10,619,000 after purchasing an additional 25,111 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in Afya by 1.8% during the second quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 151,180 shares of the company's stock worth $2,700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares in the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Afya during the second quarter worth $1,750,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Afya by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 97,313 shares of the company's stock worth $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 34,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Afya by 11.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 86,201 shares of the company's stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 9,192 shares in the last quarter. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Afya Company Profile

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.