Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) reached a new 52-week high of $7.83 on Tuesday, closing at $7.43 with significant trading volume of 1,308,320 shares.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their ratings and price targets, with Barclays upgrading the stock to "overweight" and setting a target of $9.50, while some ratings were decreased.
• Insider trading activity has been noted, with Patrick A. Cunningham and CAO Deborah Stewart selling shares, leading to a total of over 2.29 million shares sold by insiders in the past 90 days.

Shares of Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $7.83 and last traded at $7.43, with a volume of 1308320 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVAH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised Aveanna Healthcare from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Aveanna Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $6.25 to $6.00 in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Aveanna Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Aveanna Healthcare from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays raised Aveanna Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $5.50 to $9.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.50.

Aveanna Healthcare Trading Up 2.0%

The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.00 and a beta of 2.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.06.

Insider Activity at Aveanna Healthcare

In other news, major shareholder J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V sold 750,000 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick A. Cunningham sold 18,500 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total value of $91,205.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 327,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,394.17. The trade was a 5.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,295,145 shares of company stock worth $11,941,141 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Aveanna Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAH. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 26,368 shares of the company's stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,814 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $155,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,695 shares of the company's stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 19,006 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 662.2% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,889 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 33,057 shares of the company's stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 12,687 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company's stock.

Aveanna Healthcare Company Profile

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.