Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Shares of Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday. 525,763 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 208% from the average daily volume of 170,777 shares. The stock last traded at $10.57 and had previously closed at $10.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Afya from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Afya from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Bank of America raised shares of Afya from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Afya from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Afya from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Afya Stock Performance

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.24. The company has a market capitalization of $940.98 million, a P/E ratio of 6.12, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.34.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $187.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.62 million. Afya had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 17.58%. Equities analysts forecast that Afya Limited will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Afya

In related news, insider Santos Welder Ferreira sold 4,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.30, for a total transaction of $55,341.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 35,000 shares in the company, valued at $465,500. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Afya

A hedge fund recently bought a new position in Afya stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

Afya Company Profile

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.