Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Shares Up 5.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) shares shot up 5.5% during trading on Monday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $16.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Aveanna Healthcare traded as high as $13.85 and last traded at $13.8850. Approximately 511,565 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 1,773,346 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.16.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $8.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Stephens upgraded Aveanna Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $11.00 in a report on Friday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aveanna Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.44.

Insider Transactions at Aveanna Healthcare

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 sale, the insider directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Paul R. Vigano sold 7,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.24, for a total value of $43,680,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 252,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,089.76. This represents a 96.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 31,180,664 shares of company stock valued at $214,607,160 in the last 90 days. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,577,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535,351 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 49.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,334,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,593,000 after buying an additional 441,707 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 425.8% in the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 163,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after buying an additional 132,779 shares in the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare in the second quarter worth about $2,682,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare in the first quarter worth about $732,000. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.90.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $670.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.61 million. Aveanna Healthcare had a return on equity of 80.70% and a net margin of 10.56%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

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.