Zacks Research Upgrades Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) to “Strong-Buy”

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research note on Friday, December 5th. William Blair began coverage on Aveanna Healthcare in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Aveanna Healthcare from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.06.

Aveanna Healthcare Price Performance

Aveanna Healthcare stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.01. 191,959 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,367,436. Aveanna Healthcare has a 12-month low of $3.67 and a 12-month high of $10.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 2.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 140.39, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.08. Aveanna Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 143.55% and a net margin of 3.29%.The business had revenue of $621.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.57 million. Analysts forecast that Aveanna Healthcare will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aveanna Healthcare news, major shareholder Paul R. Vigano sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $13,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 362,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,264,714. This trade represents a 80.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V sold 1,251,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $11,267,181.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,292,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $173,635,083. The trade was a 6.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,511,547 shares of company stock worth $40,376,776. 7.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVAH. Summit Partners L P purchased a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth $50,477,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Aveanna Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,356,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the first quarter valued at about $218,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 207.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 479,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,510,000 after acquiring an additional 323,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the second quarter worth about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.