Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Afya from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.00 price target (down previously from $24.50) on shares of Afya in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Afya in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Afya to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.38.

Afya Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of AFYA opened at $15.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.50. Afya has a 52 week low of $13.12 and a 52 week high of $19.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.78 and a 200-day moving average of $14.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Afya

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC grew its position in Afya by 50.6% during the third quarter. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC now owns 891,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,910,000 after buying an additional 299,419 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Afya in the third quarter worth $2,895,000. Carrera Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Afya in the second quarter valued at $1,750,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Afya by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 89,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 28,053 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Afya by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 86,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 9,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

About Afya

Afya Ltd. operates as a leading provider of medical education and training services in Brazil. The company offers a comprehensive suite of educational programs that span undergraduate medical degrees, residency exam preparation, continuing medical education (CME) and digital learning platforms. Through a network of partner institutions and its own campus operations, Afya supports students at every stage of the medical training continuum, from enrollment in medical schools to ongoing professional development for practicing physicians.

At the core of Afya’s offerings is its undergraduate medical program, delivered through a combination of in-person courses at affiliated campuses and fully digital curricula.