Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $19.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $21.00.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AFYA. Zacks Research raised Afya from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Afya from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Bradesco Corretora upgraded Afya to an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Afya in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Afya from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Afya currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.25.

Afya Trading Up 4.2%

AFYA opened at $14.75 on Wednesday. Afya has a fifty-two week low of $11.62 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.26.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $187.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.62 million. Afya had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 17.58%. As a group, research analysts predict that Afya will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Afya

In other news, insider Santos Welder Ferreira sold 4,161 shares of Afya stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total value of $55,341.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Afya

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of Afya during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $325,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Afya in the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Afya during the 4th quarter valued at $462,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

About Afya

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.