Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Stock Has Average Price Target of $17.75

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.75.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Afya from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Bradesco Corretora upgraded shares of Afya to an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Afya from $21.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Afya in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Afya from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th.

More Afya News

Here are the key news stories impacting Afya this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merger creates significant scale. Afya and Yduqs signed a binding agreement to combine their operations, creating a group with approximately 1.6 million students and R$9.4 billion in revenue. Afya shareholders are expected to own about 69.3% of the combined company. Afya Limited and Yduqs Enter Into Merger Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Potential for stronger cash generation and synergies. Management commentary highlighted faster cash-flow generation and additional consolidation opportunities. Analysts cited potential synergies of as much as R$2.8 billion, while the transaction is also reported to include approximately R$750 million in dividends. JP Morgan merger scenarios
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst valuation remains above the market price. AFYA has a consensus price target of $17.75, implying substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. Afya consensus target price
• Neutral Sentiment: Listing and transaction structure remain important questions. Reports suggest the merger could affect AFYA’s Nasdaq listing, while the share-exchange structure, approvals and integration plans still need to be completed. These uncertainties may be limiting the immediate benefit of the announcement. Afya and Yduqs listing report
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest increased sharply. One report showed short interest rising 163.2% to 1.41 million shares as of September 15, equal to roughly 5.2 days of average volume. A separate report listed zero short interest, indicating inconsistent data; the increase should therefore be treated cautiously. Zacks Strong Sell list
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term sentiment is cautious. Zacks added AFYA to its No. 5, or “Strong Sell,” ranking, adding pressure while investors assess merger execution and the company’s future trading venue.

Afya Price Performance

Shares of Afya stock opened at $13.00 on Friday. Afya has a twelve month low of $12.75 and a twelve month high of $16.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $14.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.34.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $187.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.62 million. Afya had a return on equity of 17.58% and a net margin of 20.55%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Afya will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Afya

In related news, VP Lélio de Souza, Jr. sold 36,204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $543,060.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of Afya

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFYA. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Afya in the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of Afya during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Afya during the fourth quarter worth approximately $462,000. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Afya by 170.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 189,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,916,000 after buying an additional 119,200 shares in the last quarter. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Afya

Afya Limited is a Brazilian medical education and technology company that operates an integrated platform for physicians and medical students. The company provides education and professional development throughout the medical career cycle, from undergraduate training and residency preparation to continuing medical education and specialization programs.

Afya’s offerings include medical schools, preparatory courses, postgraduate and continuing education programs, digital learning tools, and clinical practice technologies.