Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.47, but opened at $6.81. Aveanna Healthcare shares last traded at $6.89, with a volume of 305,426 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAH has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays cut their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $9.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Stephens upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.50.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Up 6.8%

The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.35. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.86, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.77.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.05. Aveanna Healthcare had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 124.68%. The company had revenue of $647.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $613.22 million. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Patrick A. Cunningham sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 37.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAH. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Aveanna Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $15,743,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,577,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535,351 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Aveanna Healthcare during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,922,000. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 120.1% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,022,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,070,000 after purchasing an additional 557,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 226.0% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 393,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,487,000 after purchasing an additional 272,561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

About Aveanna Healthcare

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.