Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Given New $9.50 Price Target at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays raised its price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.00 to $9.50 and kept an overweight rating, though that still implies a slight downside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment is generally constructive, with Aveanna carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $10.56 across covering firms.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.18 EPS versus $0.13 expected on $647.9 million in revenue, while shares opened at $9.61 and traded near their 12-month high.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Barclays from $9.00 to $9.50 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential downside of 1.11% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Stephens raised shares of Aveanna Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded Aveanna Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised Aveanna Healthcare from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.56.

Aveanna Healthcare Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of AVAH stock opened at $9.61 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.35. The business's 50 day moving average is $7.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.57. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 8.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.89. Aveanna Healthcare has a 12 month low of $3.73 and a 12 month high of $10.32.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $647.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $613.22 million. Aveanna Healthcare had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 124.68%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Aveanna Healthcare will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Paul R. Vigano sold 7,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.24, for a total transaction of $43,680,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 252,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,578,089.76. This trade represents a 96.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V sold 5,842,240 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.24, for a total value of $36,455,577.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,450,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,931,413.28. This represents a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 31,305,664 shares of company stock worth $215,555,910 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVAH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,577,010 shares of the company's stock worth $45,564,000 after buying an additional 1,535,351 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 120.1% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,022,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,070,000 after buying an additional 557,898 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 149.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 394,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,220,000 after buying an additional 236,152 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 16.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 951,594 shares of the company's stock worth $6,128,000 after acquiring an additional 134,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Precision Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $1,075,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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