Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $3.96, but opened at $4.26. Aveanna Healthcare shares last traded at $4.21, with a volume of 71,319 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVAH. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $6.25 to $6.00 in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Aveanna Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $5.50 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aveanna Healthcare has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Up 4.7%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $808.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 207.25 and a beta of 1.98.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Deborah Stewart sold 15,457 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.56, for a total transaction of $85,940.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 285,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,801.76. This trade represents a 5.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V sold 1,560,700 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $8,365,352.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,640,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,874,452.16. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,115,345 shares of company stock valued at $37,838,057 over the last three months. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Partners L P bought a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the second quarter worth $50,477,000. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth about $57,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,918 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 352,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 29,811 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aveanna Healthcare Company Profile

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.