Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Afya from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $12.60 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Afya from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Citigroup raised shares of Afya from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $12.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Bradesco Corretora upgraded shares of Afya to an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Afya from $19.00 to $17.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.18.

Afya Price Performance

AFYA opened at $10.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $999.99 million, a PE ratio of 6.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20. Afya has a 1 year low of $9.66 and a 1 year high of $16.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.08.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.62 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Afya will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total value of $55,341.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,500. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFYA. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Afya during the second quarter worth $67,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of Afya during the second quarter worth approximately $325,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd increased its holdings in Afya by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 60,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 16,250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

About Afya

Afya Limited is a Brazilian medical education and digital health company. Its education business offers undergraduate medical degree programs, medical residency preparation, postgraduate courses and continuing education for health professionals.

The company also provides digital tools and services for medical students and practicing physicians, including clinical reference, practice-management and learning resources. These offerings support professionals at different stages of their medical careers.

Afya traces its roots to 1999 and serves students and health professionals across Brazil through its educational institutions and digital platforms.