Insider Selling: Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Major Shareholder Sells 8,346,059 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V, a major shareholder of Aveanna Healthcare, sold 8,346,059 shares at an average price of $9.00, totaling approximately $75.1 million, representing a 28.89% decrease in their holdings.
• Aveanna Healthcare's stock is currently trading at $9.24, with a market cap of $1.93 billion and a 12-month high of $10.32.
• Analyst ratings for Aveanna Healthcare vary, with three analysts rating it as a "Buy" and five as a "Hold," while the average target price is $8.08.

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) major shareholder J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V sold 8,346,059 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $75,114,531.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,544,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,902,264. This trade represents a 28.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAH traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $9.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,093,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,417. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 115.50 and a beta of 2.05. Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.67 and a 12-month high of $10.32. The company's 50 day moving average is $8.41 and its 200-day moving average is $6.09.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 22nd. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter. Aveanna Healthcare had a net margin of 0.85% and a negative return on equity of 54.56%. The firm had revenue of $450.53 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. will post -0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVAH. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $6.25 to $6.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $5.50 to $9.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.08.

Institutional Trading of Aveanna Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVAH. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 50.9% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 49,881 shares of the company's stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 16,835 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted 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 worth $623,000 after buying an additional 4,655 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Aveanna Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at $167,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 145.9% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 263,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 156,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 159.9% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 65,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 40,243 shares during the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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