Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Stock Dropped to Strong Sell by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Afya from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Afya from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Afya from $19.00 to $17.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised Afya from an “underweight” rating to a “cautious” rating and set a $12.60 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Afya from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Afya currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.18.

Afya Stock Performance

Shares of Afya stock opened at $10.50 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $13.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.14. Afya has a 52 week low of $9.66 and a 52 week high of $16.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $984.06 million, a P/E ratio of 6.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.43.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $187.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.62 million. Afya had a return on equity of 17.58% and a net margin of 20.55%. Research analysts forecast that Afya will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Afya

In related news, insider Santos Welder Ferreira sold 4,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total value of $55,341.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 35,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,500. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Afya

A hedge fund recently bought a new position in Afya stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 21,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000. 88.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Afya

Afya Limited is a medical education and digital health company focused on Brazil. Through its educational platform, the company provides undergraduate medical education, medical residency preparation, specialization and continuing medical education programs, and other learning resources for students and physicians.

Afya also offers digital products and services intended to support healthcare professionals throughout their careers. These include clinical content, study tools, telemedicine and practice-management solutions, and subscription-based applications designed to assist physicians with education, clinical decision-making, and patient care.

The company has expanded through the development and acquisition of medical schools, education businesses, and health technology platforms serving different stages of the medical professional lifecycle.