Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 78.5% in October

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 436,997 shares, a drop of 78.5% from the September 30th total of 2,033,841 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 505,835 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Insider Activity at Afya

In other news, insider Santos Welder Ferreira sold 4,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total value of $55,341.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,500. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Afya

An institutional investor recently bought a new stake in Afya stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 21,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

Afya Stock Performance

AFYA traded down $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $10.17. The company had a trading volume of 610,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,534. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.24. Afya has a 1-year low of $9.93 and a 1-year 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 stock has a market cap of $953.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.34.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Afya had a return on equity of 17.58% and a net margin of 20.55%. The firm had revenue of $187.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.62 million. Equities analysts predict that Afya will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Afya from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Afya from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Bank of America upgraded Afya from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Afya from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Afya from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.00.

Afya Company Profile

Afya Limited is a medical education and digital health company focused on Brazil. Through its educational platform, the company provides undergraduate medical education, medical residency preparation, specialization and continuing medical education programs, and other learning resources for students and physicians.

Afya also offers digital products and services intended to support healthcare professionals throughout their careers. These include clinical content, study tools, telemedicine and practice-management solutions, and subscription-based applications designed to assist physicians with education, clinical decision-making, and patient care.

The company has expanded through the development and acquisition of medical schools, education businesses, and health technology platforms serving different stages of the medical professional lifecycle.