Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.87, but opened at $7.10. Aveanna Healthcare shares last traded at $6.9050, with a volume of 583,354 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial raised Aveanna Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Aveanna Healthcare from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $9.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Stephens raised Aveanna Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.50.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 5.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.35, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.67.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $647.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $613.22 million. Aveanna Healthcare had a return on equity of 124.68% and a net margin of 10.37%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick A. Cunningham sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.59, for a total transaction of $948,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 212,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,614,810.45. The trade was a 37.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Paul R. Vigano sold 7,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.24, for a total value of $43,680,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 252,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,578,089.76. This trade represents a 96.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 19,967,240 shares of company stock valued at $124,764,328 over the last three months. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVAH. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 252.4% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $85,000. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aveanna Healthcare Company Profile

Aveanna Healthcare, Inc (NASDAQ: AVAH) is a national provider of in-home health care services, specializing in pediatric skilled nursing, therapy, and related support for medically complex and chronically ill children. The company delivers a range of clinical and therapeutic solutions designed to enable patients to receive care in the comfort of their own homes, reducing the need for hospital stays and long-term institutional care. Aveanna’s offerings include registered nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapy, behavioral health counseling, and durable medical equipment coordination.

In addition to pediatric home health services, Aveanna operates adult home health and personal care support programs, assisting elderly and disabled adults with daily living activities, medication management, and rehabilitation therapies.