Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.00.

AFYA has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Afya from $21.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Afya from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Afya in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Afya from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Afya from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Lelio De Souza Junior sold 36,204 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $543,060.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Gomiero Mirella Basolli sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.80, for a total transaction of $148,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 34,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $511,044. This represents a 22.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 87,745 shares of company stock valued at $1,314,175 in the last ninety days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Afya

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Afya by 170.3% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 189,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,916,000 after acquiring an additional 119,200 shares during the last quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Afya by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 30,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 5,599 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Afya during the 4th quarter valued at about $508,000. Mangrove Partners IM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Afya in the fourth quarter valued at about $197,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Afya in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

Afya Price Performance

AFYA stock opened at $14.59 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Afya has a 52 week low of $13.00 and a 52 week high of $16.50.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) 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 20.55% and a return on equity of 17.58%. The firm had revenue of $187.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.62 million. Equities analysts forecast that Afya will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Afya

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.