Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) Short Interest Up 20.6% in December

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

Aveanna Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of AVAH opened at $9.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 140.39, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. Aveanna Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $3.67 and a fifty-two week high of $10.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61 and a beta of 2.06.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $621.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.57 million. Aveanna Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 143.55% and a net margin of 3.29%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aveanna Healthcare will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AVAH. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aveanna Healthcare in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aveanna Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edwin C. Reisz sold 17,613 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.85, for a total value of $138,262.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,321,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,370,744.90. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Buckhalter sold 18,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.85, for a total transaction of $143,969.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 436,980 shares in the company, valued at $3,430,293. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 32,857,606 shares of company stock worth $295,491,307 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

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

Aveanna Healthcare Company Profile

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.