Wall Street Zen Upgrades Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) to Buy

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

AFYA has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.50 price objective (up from $17.50) on shares of Afya in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Citigroup upgraded Afya from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Afya to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $17.50 price objective on Afya and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.50.

Afya Stock Performance

Shares of AFYA opened at $14.98 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $15.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.18. Afya has a 12-month low of $13.47 and a 12-month high of $19.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Afya

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Afya by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Militia Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Afya in the second quarter worth $71,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Afya by 1,099.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Afya during the second quarter valued at $117,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Afya by 2,115.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 6,369 shares during the period. 88.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Afya

Afya Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a medical education group in Brazil. The company operates through three segments: Undergrad, Continuing Education, and Digital Services. It offers educational products and services, including medical schools, medical residency preparatory courses, graduate courses, and other programs to lifelong medical learners enrolled across its distribution network, as well as to third-party medical schools.