Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Aveanna Healthcare's shares gapped up significantly, opening at $5.32 after reporting quarterly earnings of $0.16 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.12.
• Several Wall Street analysts revised their ratings on the stock, with a consensus average rating of "Hold" and a target price of $5.25.
• Significant insider selling occurred, with key insiders offloading over 7 million shares in the last three months, indicating potential concerns about the stock's outlook.

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $3.89, but opened at $5.32. Aveanna Healthcare shares last traded at $5.69, with a volume of 4,461,202 shares.

The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.12. Aveanna Healthcare had a net margin of 0.26% and a negative return on equity of 15.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Aveanna Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $6.25 to $6.00 in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $5.50 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aveanna Healthcare currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $5.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aveanna Healthcare news, CAO Deborah Stewart sold 15,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.56, for a total transaction of $85,940.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 285,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,586,801.76. This represents a 5.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Robert M. Williams, Jr. sold 1,560,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $8,365,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,640,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $158,874,452.16. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,024,284 shares of company stock valued at $37,306,260. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVAH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,699 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,581 shares of the company's stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,918 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 16.2% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,251 shares of the company's stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 4,349 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 21.2% during 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 increased its position in Aveanna Healthcare by 4.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 114,881 shares of the company's stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 4,655 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company's stock.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 283.55 and a beta of 1.95.

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.

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