Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $8.00 to $15.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Aveanna Healthcare traded as high as $14.70 and last traded at $14.38, with a volume of 2585273 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.08.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $10.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aveanna Healthcare news, major shareholder J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V sold 12,496,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.50, for a total transaction of $143,704,885.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Robert Williams, Jr. sold 14,500,002 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.50, for a total value of $166,750,023.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,904,505 shares of company stock valued at $649,301,514. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAH. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 252.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at $53,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $69,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth $102,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $11.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.64.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.05. Aveanna Healthcare had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 80.70%. The company had revenue of $670.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.61 million. Analysts anticipate that Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aveanna Healthcare Company Profile

Aveanna Healthcare Corporation is a provider of home-based healthcare services for children, adults and families in the United States. The company’s services are designed to help patients receive medical and supportive care in their homes and communities, including individuals with complex, chronic or medically fragile conditions.

Aveanna’s principal services include private-duty nursing, home health, hospice and personal care. It also provides pediatric therapy and related clinical services, including physical, occupational and speech therapy.