Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) CFO Sells $71,535.15 in Stock

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) CFO Matthew Buckhalter sold 9,351 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.65, for a total transaction of $71,535.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 555,922 shares in the company, valued at $4,252,803.30. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Matthew Buckhalter also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 19th, Matthew Buckhalter sold 13,512 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.21, for a total transaction of $97,421.52.
• On Wednesday, February 18th, Matthew Buckhalter sold 13,167 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.38, for a total transaction of $97,172.46.
• On Friday, January 2nd, Matthew Buckhalter sold 18,340 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.85, for a total transaction of $143,969.00.
• On Wednesday, December 31st, Matthew Buckhalter sold 17,289 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total value of $141,424.02.
• On Tuesday, December 30th, Matthew Buckhalter sold 17,448 shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.36, for a total value of $145,865.28.

Aveanna Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock opened at $7.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 2.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.45 and a 200 day moving average of $8.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 140.39. Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.67 and a 12 month high of $10.32.

Key Aveanna Healthcare News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aveanna Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying in recent quarters — firms including Invesco, Millennium, Zimmer Partners and others increased or established positions in Q4, a vote of confidence that can support the stock over the medium term. MarketBeat Institutional Activity
• Positive Sentiment: Despite recent sales, insiders still retain large, multi‑million‑dollar stakes (CEO, CFO and others remain major shareholders), which can temper panic selling and signal some continued alignment with shareholders. SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest shows zero shares for mid‑February — this is almost certainly a reporting/data anomaly and does not indicate genuine lack of short interest. Treat the short‑interest figure cautiously. Short Interest Data
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading volume today was below recent averages; low volume can amplify price moves when large blocks or news hit the tape (higher intraday volatility risk).
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed: consensus is around a “Hold” with an average target near $11 — helpful context for longer‑term positioning but not an immediate catalyst. Analyst Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Large, concentrated insider selling Feb. 17–19 by CEO Jeff Shaner — roughly 461,900 shares sold across three days (~$3.4M reported proceeds) — is the primary negative catalyst driving downward pressure as the market interprets sizeable CEO disposals as risk reduction. CEO Sales SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Additional senior/executive selling (CFO Matthew Buckhalter, CAO Deborah Stewart, and other insiders including Edwin C. Reisz and Patrick A. Cunningham) involved hundreds of thousands of shares total across the same dates — a reinforcing negative signal that likely amplified the pullback. Other Insider Filings
• Negative Sentiment: Independent coverage singled out the insider selling as the main reason for a recent ~5–6% pullback, increasing market attention on the disposals and reinforcing short‑term selling pressure. AAII Article

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 232.8% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 224,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after buying an additional 156,947 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,356,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 207.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 479,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,510,000 after acquiring an additional 323,656 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in Aveanna Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $15,743,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 226.0% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 393,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,487,000 after purchasing an additional 272,561 shares during the period. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVAH shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on Aveanna Healthcare from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Aveanna Healthcare from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aveanna Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.