Short Interest in Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) Expands By 20.6%

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,367,054 shares, a growth of 20.6% from the December 15th total of 3,619,836 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,209,222 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,209,222 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aveanna Healthcare

In other Aveanna Healthcare news, major shareholder Paul R. Vigano sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $13,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 362,746 shares in the company, valued at $3,264,714. This represents a 80.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Buckhalter sold 18,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.85, for a total transaction of $143,969.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 436,980 shares in the company, valued at $3,430,293. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,511,547 shares of company stock worth $40,376,776. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aveanna Healthcare

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

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock opened at $9.13 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36 and a beta of 2.06. 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 has a 52 week low of $3.67 and a 52 week high of $10.32.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $621.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.57 million. Aveanna Healthcare had a net margin of 3.29% and a negative return on equity of 143.55%. Sell-side analysts expect that Aveanna Healthcare will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVAH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. William Blair assumed coverage on Aveanna Healthcare in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.06.

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.