Zacks Research Downgrades Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) to Hold

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

AFYA has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Afya in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Afya from $22.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America cut shares of Afya from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Afya from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a report on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.20.

Afya Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of AFYA stock opened at $13.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.64. Afya has a fifty-two week low of $13.00 and a fifty-two week high of $19.90.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. Afya had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 20.31%.The firm had revenue of $194.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $192.95 million. Equities research analysts predict that Afya will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP De Sousa Anibal Jose Grifo sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.41, for a total value of $215,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 31,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $477,710. This represents a 31.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Lelio De Souza Junior sold 26,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.95, for a total transaction of $399,957.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 16,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,371.05. The trade was a 62.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 123,547 shares of company stock worth $1,854,920. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AFYA. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Afya by 167.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 45,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 28,226 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Afya by 85.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 23,961 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Afya in the 2nd quarter valued at about $117,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Afya by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 68,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,626 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Afya in the 2nd quarter valued at about $249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

Afya Company Profile

Afya Ltd. operates as a leading provider of medical education and training services in Brazil. The company offers a comprehensive suite of educational programs that span undergraduate medical degrees, residency exam preparation, continuing medical education (CME) and digital learning platforms. Through a network of partner institutions and its own campus operations, Afya supports students at every stage of the medical training continuum, from enrollment in medical schools to ongoing professional development for practicing physicians.

At the core of Afya’s offerings is its undergraduate medical program, delivered through a combination of in-person courses at affiliated campuses and fully digital curricula.