Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $4.81, but opened at $5.18. Aveanna Healthcare shares last traded at $5.24, with a volume of 54,716 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVAH. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $1.70 to $2.80 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Aveanna Healthcare Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of -8.02 and a beta of 2.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.89.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $504.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $494.02 million. Equities research analysts expect that Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 48,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 8,502 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 149,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 9,243 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 45,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 12,075 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 185.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 29,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 19,096 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Aveanna Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $101,000. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aveanna Healthcare

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.