Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Friday after UBS Group downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. UBS Group now has a $16.00 price target on the stock. Afya traded as low as $13.41 and last traded at $13.49, with a volume of 26084 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.39.

AFYA has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Afya in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Afya from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Afya from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.00 target price (down from $24.50) on shares of Afya in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Afya to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Afya

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Militia Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Afya during the 2nd quarter worth $71,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Afya during the second quarter valued at about $117,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Afya by 15.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Afya during the second quarter worth about $164,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Afya in the second quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Institutional investors own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

Afya Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

About Afya

Afya Ltd. operates as a leading provider of medical education and training services in Brazil. The company offers a comprehensive suite of educational programs that span undergraduate medical degrees, residency exam preparation, continuing medical education (CME) and digital learning platforms. Through a network of partner institutions and its own campus operations, Afya supports students at every stage of the medical training continuum, from enrollment in medical schools to ongoing professional development for practicing physicians.

At the core of Afya’s offerings is its undergraduate medical program, delivered through a combination of in-person courses at affiliated campuses and fully digital curricula.