Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Afya a consensus “Hold”: of nine firms, four rate it Buy, three Hold, and two Sell. Their average 12-month price target is $15.18.
• AFYA opened at $10.32, near its 52-week low of $9.66; its 50-day and 200-day moving averages were $12.82 and $14.00, respectively.
• In its latest reported quarter, Afya earned $0.43 per share, beating the $0.40 estimate, while revenue of $187.8 million fell short of the $189.62 million consensus.

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.18.

A number of research analysts have commented on AFYA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Afya from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Afya from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Afya from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $12.60 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Bradesco Corretora upgraded Afya to an "outperform" rating and set a $17.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Afya from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Santos Welder Ferreira sold 4,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total value of $55,341.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 35,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $465,500. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Afya

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Afya during the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Afya in the 2nd quarter valued at $325,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Afya in the 3rd quarter worth $399,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd boosted its position in shares of Afya by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 60,114 shares of the company's stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 16,250 shares during the last quarter. 88.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Afya Price Performance

AFYA opened at $10.32 on Friday. Afya has a one year low of $9.66 and a one year high of $16.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $12.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $967.19 million, a P/E ratio of 6.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.43.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Afya had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $187.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.62 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Afya will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Afya Company Profile

Afya Limited is a Brazilian medical education and digital health company. Its education business offers undergraduate medical degree programs, medical residency preparation, postgraduate courses and continuing education for health professionals. The company also provides digital tools and services for medical students and practicing physicians, including clinical reference, practice-management and learning resources. These offerings support professionals at different stages of their medical careers.

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