Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after Barclays upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $7.04, but opened at $7.43. Barclays now has a $9.50 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $5.50. Aveanna Healthcare shares last traded at $7.28, with a volume of 632,781 shares trading hands.

AVAH has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $9.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $6.25 to $6.00 in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $6.75 to $8.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder J.H. Whitney Equity Partners V sold 750,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total value of $3,900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 28,890,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,231,931.20. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick A. Cunningham sold 18,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $91,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 327,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,394.17. This represents a 5.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,295,145 shares of company stock worth $11,941,141. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,918 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 4,349 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 4,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 114,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 4,655 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $4.84 and its 200-day moving average is $4.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 90.88 and a beta of 1.95.

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.