Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Aveanna Healthcare shares reached a new 52-week high of $8.23 during trading, reflecting a positive sentiment towards the stock.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their ratings on Aveanna Healthcare, with Raymond James setting a price target of $9.00 and Barclays raising theirs to $9.50.
• Insider sales saw executives selling significant shares recently, totaling approximately $11.9 million in the last quarter, indicating a potential shift in insider sentiment.

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $8.23 and last traded at $8.18, with a volume of 150898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays upgraded Aveanna Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $5.50 to $9.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aveanna Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group upgraded Aveanna Healthcare from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $6.75 to $8.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Aveanna Healthcare from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $9.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.50.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.75 and a beta of 2.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Deborah Stewart sold 15,457 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.56, for a total transaction of $85,940.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 285,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,801.76. This trade represents a 5.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V sold 750,000 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total value of $3,900,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,890,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $150,231,931.20. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,295,145 shares of company stock worth $11,941,141. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Aveanna Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVAH. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Aveanna Healthcare by 662.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,889 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 6,854 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 87.96% of the company's stock.

About Aveanna Healthcare

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc, a diversified home care platform company, provides pediatric and adult healthcare services in the United States. Its patient-centered care delivery platform allows patients to remain in their homes and minimizes the overutilization of high-cost care settings, such as hospitals or skilled nursing facilities.