Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Afya shares jumped 7.4%, opening at $13.36 versus the prior close of $12.22, before later trading around $12.78.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans neutral: the stock has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $17.75, with recent ratings ranging from “Sell” to “Outperform.”
• Afya exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.43 versus the $0.40 consensus estimate, while revenue of $187.8 million fell slightly short of forecasts; institutional investors own 88.02% of the company.

Shares of Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $12.22, but opened at $13.36. Afya shares last traded at $12.7790, with a volume of 74,980 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AFYA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Afya from $21.50 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Afya in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Bradesco Corretora upgraded shares of Afya to an "outperform" rating and set a $17.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Afya from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Afya from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.75.

Afya Trading Up 7.4%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.81 and a 200-day moving average of $14.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.01, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.34.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $187.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.62 million. Afya had a return on equity of 17.58% and a net margin of 20.55%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Afya Limited will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Afya during the second quarter worth about $325,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Afya in the 2nd quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new stake in Afya during the 4th quarter worth $462,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.02% of the company's stock.

Afya Company Profile

Afya Limited NASDAQ: AFYA is a Brazil-based medical education and health technology company. The company provides education and professional development for physicians and other healthcare professionals, with activities spanning undergraduate medical programs, medical residency preparation, specialization courses, continuing medical education and digital learning services.

Afya also develops technology-enabled products designed to support healthcare professionals throughout their careers.

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