Wall Street Zen Upgrades Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Aveanna Healthcare has been upgraded from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased analyst confidence in the company's stock.
• The company currently has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion and a PE ratio of 76.75, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.25.
• Insider trading reports show that major shareholder Robert M. Williams, Jr. sold over 1.5 million shares recently, reflecting a significant change in ownership levels within the company.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AVAH. Barclays started coverage on Aveanna Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $5.50 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.45.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of AVAH traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 636,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 505,117. Aveanna Healthcare has a one year low of $3.67 and a one year high of $7.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 91.75 and a beta of 1.95. The stock's 50-day moving average is $4.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.82.

Insider Transactions at Aveanna Healthcare

In other Aveanna Healthcare news, major shareholder Paul R. Vigano sold 1,560,700 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $8,365,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,640,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $158,874,452.16. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Deborah Stewart sold 15,457 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.56, for a total value of $85,940.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 285,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,586,801.76. The trade was a 5.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,977,245 shares of company stock valued at $37,037,197 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 4.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 2,918 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 4,349 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 4,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake 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 valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 4,655 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.