Matthew Buckhalter Sells 9,351 Shares of Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Stock

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) CFO Matthew Buckhalter sold 9,351 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.65, for a total transaction of $71,535.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 555,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,252,803.30. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Matthew Buckhalter also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 19th, Matthew Buckhalter sold 13,512 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.21, for a total value of $97,421.52.
• On Wednesday, February 18th, Matthew Buckhalter sold 13,167 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.38, for a total transaction of $97,172.46.
• On Friday, January 2nd, Matthew Buckhalter sold 18,340 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.85, for a total transaction of $143,969.00.
• On Wednesday, December 31st, Matthew Buckhalter sold 17,289 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total transaction of $141,424.02.
• On Tuesday, December 30th, Matthew Buckhalter sold 17,448 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.36, for a total transaction of $145,865.28.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock opened at $7.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 140.39, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.46. Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.67 and a fifty-two week high of $10.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 2.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 4,602 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 8.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 339,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 25,974 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 522.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 75,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 63,010 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Belvedere Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Aveanna Healthcare News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aveanna Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying in recent quarters — firms including Invesco, Millennium, Zimmer Partners and others increased or established positions in Q4, a vote of confidence that can support the stock over the medium term. MarketBeat Institutional Activity
• Positive Sentiment: Despite recent sales, insiders still retain large, multi‑million‑dollar stakes (CEO, CFO and others remain major shareholders), which can temper panic selling and signal some continued alignment with shareholders. SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest shows zero shares for mid‑February — this is almost certainly a reporting/data anomaly and does not indicate genuine lack of short interest. Treat the short‑interest figure cautiously. Short Interest Data
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading volume today was below recent averages; low volume can amplify price moves when large blocks or news hit the tape (higher intraday volatility risk).
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed: consensus is around a “Hold” with an average target near $11 — helpful context for longer‑term positioning but not an immediate catalyst. Analyst Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Large, concentrated insider selling Feb. 17–19 by CEO Jeff Shaner — roughly 461,900 shares sold across three days (~$3.4M reported proceeds) — is the primary negative catalyst driving downward pressure as the market interprets sizeable CEO disposals as risk reduction. CEO Sales SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Additional senior/executive selling (CFO Matthew Buckhalter, CAO Deborah Stewart, and other insiders including Edwin C. Reisz and Patrick A. Cunningham) involved hundreds of thousands of shares total across the same dates — a reinforcing negative signal that likely amplified the pullback. Other Insider Filings
• Negative Sentiment: Independent coverage singled out the insider selling as the main reason for a recent ~5–6% pullback, increasing market attention on the disposals and reinforcing short‑term selling pressure. AAII Article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AVAH. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Aveanna Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aveanna Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.06.

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.