UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Stock

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at UBS Group from $9.00 to $9.50 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 8.57% from the stock’s previous close.

AVAH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays raised shares of Aveanna Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $5.50 to $9.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.07.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

AVAH stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.75. 1,381,278 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 794,060. Aveanna Healthcare has a 52-week low of $3.67 and a 52-week high of $10.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $8.84 and a 200-day moving average of $6.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.38 and a beta of 2.04.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 22nd. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter. Aveanna Healthcare had a net margin of 0.85% and a negative return on equity of 54.56%. The firm had revenue of $450.53 million for the quarter. Research analysts anticipate that Aveanna Healthcare will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aveanna Healthcare news, major shareholder J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V sold 8,346,059 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $75,114,531.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,544,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,902,264. The trade was a 28.89% 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. Also, major shareholder Robert M. Williams, Jr. sold 10,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $90,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 386,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,476,556. This represents a 96.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,597,968 shares of company stock worth $293,381,712. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVAH. Summit Partners L P bought a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,477,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the first quarter worth $218,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 49,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 16,835 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 4,349 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aveanna Healthcare

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc, a diversified home care platform company, provides pediatric and adult healthcare services in the United States. Its patient-centered care delivery platform allows patients to remain in their homes and minimizes the overutilization of high-cost care settings, such as hospitals or skilled nursing facilities.