Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Afya from “hold” to “buy,” adding to mixed analyst views. Four analysts rate the stock Buy, three Hold, and two Sell; the consensus rating remains Hold, with an average price target of $15.18.
• Other recent calls range from Bank of America’s Buy rating and $16 target to Zacks Research’s Strong Sell rating. JPMorgan lowered its target to $17.50 while retaining an Overweight rating.
• Afya reported quarterly EPS of $0.43, topping the $0.40 estimate, while revenue of $187.8 million fell short of the $189.62 million forecast.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

AFYA has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Afya from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Afya from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Bradesco Corretora upgraded shares of Afya to an "outperform" rating and set a $17.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings cut Afya from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Afya from $19.00 to $17.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.18.

Afya Stock Up 3.4%

AFYA stock opened at $10.50 on Friday. Afya has a 1-year low of $9.66 and a 1-year high of $16.16. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $13.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $984.06 million, a PE ratio of 6.40, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Afya had a return on equity of 17.58% and a net margin of 20.55%. The company had revenue of $187.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.62 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Afya will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Santos Welder Ferreira sold 4,161 shares of Afya stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total transaction of $55,341.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 35,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $465,500. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Afya during the 2nd quarter worth about $325,000. R Squared Ltd increased its stake in shares of Afya by 37.0% in the third quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 60,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 16,250 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Afya during the second quarter worth about $67,000. 88.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Afya

Afya Limited is a medical education and digital health company focused on Brazil. Through its educational platform, the company provides undergraduate medical education, medical residency preparation, specialization and continuing medical education programs, and other learning resources for students and physicians.

Afya also offers digital products and services intended to support healthcare professionals throughout their careers. These include clinical content, study tools, telemedicine and practice-management solutions, and subscription-based applications designed to assist physicians with education, clinical decision-making, and patient care.

The company has expanded through the development and acquisition of medical schools, education businesses, and health technology platforms serving different stages of the medical professional lifecycle.

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