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

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.87, but opened at $7.10. Aveanna Healthcare shares last traded at $6.9050, with a volume of 583,354 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVAH. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Stephens upgraded Aveanna Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Aveanna Healthcare from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $9.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aveanna Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.50.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Up 0.1%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 5.84, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.93.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.05. Aveanna Healthcare had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 124.68%. The firm had revenue of $647.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $613.22 million. Aveanna Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V sold 5,842,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.24, for a total value of $36,455,577.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,450,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,931,413.28. This trade represents a 30.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Robert M. Williams, Jr. sold 7,000,000 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.24, for a total value of $43,680,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 252,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,089.76. This trade represents a 96.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,967,240 shares of company stock valued at $124,764,328. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVAH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,577,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535,351 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,849,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,110,000 after acquiring an additional 278,429 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare during the third quarter valued at approximately $15,743,000. Nuveen LLC lifted its position in Aveanna Healthcare by 135.9% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,571,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,838,000 after acquiring an additional 905,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,483,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,118,000 after acquiring an additional 256,392 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Aveanna Healthcare Company Profile

Aveanna Healthcare, Inc (NASDAQ: AVAH) is a national provider of in-home health care services, specializing in pediatric skilled nursing, therapy, and related support for medically complex and chronically ill children. The company delivers a range of clinical and therapeutic solutions designed to enable patients to receive care in the comfort of their own homes, reducing the need for hospital stays and long-term institutional care. Aveanna’s offerings include registered nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapy, behavioral health counseling, and durable medical equipment coordination.

In addition to pediatric home health services, Aveanna operates adult home health and personal care support programs, assisting elderly and disabled adults with daily living activities, medication management, and rehabilitation therapies.