Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AFYA. Weiss Ratings downgraded Afya from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Bradesco Corretora raised Afya to an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Afya from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Afya in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Afya from $21.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Afya Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AFYA opened at $13.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.78 and a 200-day moving average of $14.26. Afya has a one year low of $11.62 and a one year high of $16.16.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. Afya had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 17.58%. The business had revenue of $187.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.62 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Afya will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Afya

In related news, insider Santos Welder Ferreira sold 4,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total transaction of $55,341.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,500. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Afya

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Afya during the fourth quarter worth about $462,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Afya in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Afya in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Afya Company Profile

Afya Limited (NASDAQ: AFYA) is a Brazil-based medical education and health technology company. The company provides education and professional development for physicians and other healthcare professionals, with activities spanning undergraduate medical programs, medical residency preparation, specialization courses, continuing medical education and digital learning services.

Afya also develops technology-enabled products designed to support healthcare professionals throughout their careers.