AdaptHealth Corp. (NASDAQ:AHCO) Receives $13.25 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

AdaptHealth Corp. (NASDAQ:AHCO) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.25.

A number of research firms recently commented on AHCO. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of AdaptHealth in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AdaptHealth from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of AdaptHealth from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research raised AdaptHealth from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AdaptHealth from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th.

AdaptHealth Price Performance

AHCO stock opened at $11.48 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.87, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.76. AdaptHealth has a fifty-two week low of $7.11 and a fifty-two week high of $11.69.

AdaptHealth (NASDAQ:AHCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported ($0.76) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($1.10). AdaptHealth had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.42%. The company had revenue of $846.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $832.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AdaptHealth will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AdaptHealth News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AdaptHealth this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major insider buy — Richard M. Cashin, Jr. purchased 447,100 shares at an average price of $9.91 on March 20, increasing his stake to ~16.31M shares (a ~2.8% increase). Large insider purchases are typically viewed as a vote of confidence by a controlling shareholder. Insider Buying: AdaptHealth Major Shareholder Purchases 447,100 Shares Adapthealth corp: Richard Cashin buys $4.4m in AHCO stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and institutional backdrop — mixed analyst moves (RBC and Leerink on the bullish side, Wall Street Zen/Weiss more cautious) but MarketBeat consensus remained around a “Moderate Buy” with a ~$13.25 target; long-term institutional ownership is high (~82.7%), which can limit free float and amplify moves.
• Negative Sentiment: Elevated and inconsistent short-interest prints — one report shows short interest rose to ~9.04M shares as of March 13 (up 22.5% from Feb. 26), representing ~6.8% shorted and a ~5.1 days-to-cover figure — a meaningful short position that can pressure the stock and raise volatility. However, multiple subsequent data entries show 0 shares/NaN (clearly erroneous), so short-interest figures are currently inconsistent across data vendors; the mixed prints themselves can generate trading noise and confusion for investors.

Insider Transactions at AdaptHealth

In other news, major shareholder Richard M. Cashin, Jr. purchased 820,528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.73 per share, with a total value of $7,983,737.44. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 14,638,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,434,628.84. This trade represents a 5.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought 2,494,518 shares of company stock worth $24,352,291 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AdaptHealth

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AdaptHealth by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in AdaptHealth by 6.6% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 27,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 1,671 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AdaptHealth by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 57,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in AdaptHealth by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 1,794 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in AdaptHealth by 17.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 1,835 shares in the last quarter. 82.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AdaptHealth

AdaptHealth, Inc operates as a leading provider of home medical equipment (HME) and related services in the United States. The company focuses on delivering respiratory care, mobility solutions and bathroom safety products to patients with chronic and acute medical needs. Through its comprehensive service offerings, AdaptHealth aims to enhance quality of life and clinical outcomes for patients who require long-term support outside of a hospital setting.

The company’s respiratory portfolio includes products such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and associated supplies for patients with sleep apnea, COPD and other pulmonary conditions.