Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AFYA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Afya in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a report on Friday, January 16th. Bank of America lowered Afya from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $22.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Afya from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Afya to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.20.

Afya Trading Down 2.2%

AFYA opened at $13.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.36. Afya has a 52 week low of $13.00 and a 52 week high of $19.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $14.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $194.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $192.95 million. Afya had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 20.31%. On average, research analysts predict that Afya will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP De Sousa Anibal Jose Grifo sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.41, for a total transaction of $215,740.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 31,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $477,710. This represents a 31.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Santos Welder Ferreira sold 3,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.90, for a total value of $52,867.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,000 shares in the company, valued at $556,500. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 123,547 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,920 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Afya

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFYA. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Afya by 167.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 45,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 28,226 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Afya by 85.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 23,961 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Afya during the second quarter worth $117,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Afya by 5.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 68,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Afya during the second quarter worth $249,000. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Afya Company Profile

Afya Ltd. operates as a leading provider of medical education and training services in Brazil. The company offers a comprehensive suite of educational programs that span undergraduate medical degrees, residency exam preparation, continuing medical education (CME) and digital learning platforms. Through a network of partner institutions and its own campus operations, Afya supports students at every stage of the medical training continuum, from enrollment in medical schools to ongoing professional development for practicing physicians.

At the core of Afya’s offerings is its undergraduate medical program, delivered through a combination of in-person courses at affiliated campuses and fully digital curricula.