Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": Eleven analysts cover AVAH (5 hold, 5 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $10.38, even as several brokers recently trimmed targets to the $9–$10 range.
• Shares opened at $6.38 (market cap $1.39B) with a 52‑week range of $3.73–$10.32 and a PE of 6.25, implying roughly a ~63% upside to the consensus target.
• Notable insider selling occurred recently (CEO Jeff Shaner sold 173,225 shares; insiders sold 738,957 shares worth ~$5.46M over three months), while institutional investors hold about 88% of the stock.

Shares of Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.3750.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AVAH. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Aveanna Healthcare from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Aveanna Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. William Blair initiated coverage on Aveanna Healthcare in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th.

Aveanna Healthcare Price Performance

Aveanna Healthcare stock opened at $6.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 2.08. Aveanna Healthcare has a 52 week low of $3.73 and a 52 week high of $10.32. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $7.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.62.

Insider Activity at Aveanna Healthcare

In other news, insider Edwin C. Reisz sold 60,769 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.21, for a total transaction of $438,144.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,447,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,433,280.97. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeff Shaner sold 173,225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.21, for a total value of $1,248,952.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,650,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,112,931.32. The trade was a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 738,957 shares of company stock worth $5,458,175. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 252.4% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,351 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 1,001.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 360,464 shares of the company's stock worth $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 327,738 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 216,200 shares of the company's stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 24,447 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,189,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Aveanna Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,915,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company's stock.

Aveanna Healthcare Company Profile

Aveanna Healthcare, Inc NASDAQ: AVAH is a national provider of in-home health care services, specializing in pediatric skilled nursing, therapy, and related support for medically complex and chronically ill children. The company delivers a range of clinical and therapeutic solutions designed to enable patients to receive care in the comfort of their own homes, reducing the need for hospital stays and long-term institutional care. Aveanna's offerings include registered nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapy, behavioral health counseling, and durable medical equipment coordination.

In addition to pediatric home health services, Aveanna operates adult home health and personal care support programs, assisting elderly and disabled adults with daily living activities, medication management, and rehabilitation therapies.

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