Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Stock

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Barclays from $9.00 to $9.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential downside of 1.11% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AVAH. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Aveanna Healthcare from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial raised Aveanna Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Stephens upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $11.00 in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.56.

Aveanna Healthcare Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:AVAH opened at $9.61 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.35. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.89. Aveanna Healthcare has a twelve month low of $3.73 and a twelve month high of $10.32.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.05. Aveanna Healthcare had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 124.68%. The firm had revenue of $647.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $613.22 million. Aveanna Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Aveanna Healthcare will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V sold 5,842,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.24, for a total value of $36,455,577.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,450,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,931,413.28. The trade was a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Paul R. Vigano sold 7,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.24, for a total transaction of $43,680,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 252,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,578,089.76. This represents a 96.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 31,305,664 shares of company stock valued at $215,555,910 over the last 90 days. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aveanna Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 1,007.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,114,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014,030 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 135.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,571,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,838,000 after purchasing an additional 905,316 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 451.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 959,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,511,000 after purchasing an additional 785,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $6,189,000. 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.