Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Stock Price Up 5.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Aveanna Healthcare shares rose 5.5% on Friday, trading as high as $9.53 after closing at $9.08, though volume was far below average.
• Analyst sentiment has improved, with recent upgrades from Stephens and RBC and a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”; the average price target is $10.78.
• Recent fundamentals were solid, as the company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and posted 15.9% year-over-year revenue growth.

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) was up 5.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $9.53 and last traded at $9.5790. 199,895 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,552,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVAH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays increased their target price on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Aveanna Healthcare from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.78.

Aveanna Healthcare Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.16 and its 200 day moving average is $7.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.35, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.89.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.05. Aveanna Healthcare had a return on equity of 124.68% and a net margin of 10.37%.The business had revenue of $647.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $613.22 million. Aveanna Healthcare's revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Patrick A. Cunningham sold 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.59, for a total transaction of $948,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 212,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,614,810.45. This represents a 37.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Robert M. Williams, Jr. sold 7,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.24, for a total value of $43,680,000.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 31,305,664 shares of company stock valued at $215,555,910 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Aveanna Healthcare by 252.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,351 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare in the first quarter worth $53,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare in the second quarter worth $43,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the third quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the second quarter valued at $64,000. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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