Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Aveanna Healthcare stock price surged after Barclays upgraded its rating from equal weight to overweight, raising the price target from $5.50 to $9.50.
• Institutional investors own 87.96% of Aveanna's shares, with significant acquisitions reported during the second quarter, including Summit Partners acquiring a $50 million stake.
• Insider activity showed a notable sale of shares by CAO Deborah Stewart and other insiders, with the combined sales totaling $11.9 million in the last quarter.

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after Barclays upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $7.04, but opened at $7.43. Barclays now has a $9.50 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $5.50. Aveanna Healthcare shares last traded at $7.28, with a volume of 632,781 shares changing hands.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $9.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $6.75 to $8.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $6.25 to $6.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.50.

Insider Activity at Aveanna Healthcare

In other news, insider Patrick A. Cunningham sold 18,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total value of $91,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 327,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,616,394.17. This represents a 5.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Robert M. Williams, Jr. sold 750,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 28,890,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $150,231,931.20. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,295,145 shares of company stock valued at $11,941,141. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Aveanna Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,699 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 4.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,581 shares of the company's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,918 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 16.2% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,251 shares of the company's stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,349 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 21.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,280 shares of the company's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 4,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 4.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 114,881 shares of the company's stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 4,655 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Up 6.1%

The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.38 and a beta of 1.95. The firm's 50-day moving average is $4.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.96.

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.