Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Analysts at Barclays

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH - Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $5.50 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen cut Aveanna Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.20.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVAH traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $4.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 480,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 341,934. The firm has a market capitalization of $902.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 231.25 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.87. Aveanna Healthcare has a 1 year low of $2.47 and a 1 year high of $6.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Paul R. Vigano sold 750,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction of $3,900,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,890,756 shares in the company, valued at $150,231,931.20. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Deborah Stewart sold 15,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was 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 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 have sold a total of 7,115,345 shares of company stock valued at $37,838,057 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVAH. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 50.1% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 533,196 shares of the company's stock worth $2,437,000 after purchasing an additional 177,856 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 478,907 shares of the company's stock worth $2,189,000 after acquiring an additional 48,572 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Aveanna Healthcare by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 466,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,047 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Aveanna Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,992,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 400,374 shares of the company's stock worth $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 205,023 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company's stock.

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.