Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Shares Up 8.4% – Here’s What Happened

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) shares shot up 8.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $9.21 and last traded at $9.2070. 285,416 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 1,128,623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVAH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. William Blair initiated coverage on Aveanna Healthcare in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aveanna Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.06.

Aveanna Healthcare Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61 and a beta of 2.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $8.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 140.39.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $621.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.57 million. Aveanna Healthcare had a net margin of 3.29% and a negative return on equity of 143.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeff Shaner sold 29,357 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.85, for a total transaction of $230,452.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,394,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,794,305.15. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Deborah Stewart sold 11,962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.85, for a total transaction of $93,901.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 251,676 shares in the company, valued at $1,975,656.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,857,606 shares of company stock worth $295,491,307. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAH. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 4,602 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 8.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 339,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 25,974 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 522.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 75,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 63,010 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare in the first quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 4.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,918 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aveanna Healthcare

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.