Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) Short Interest Up 6.0% in October

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the September 30th total of 1,160,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 341,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Aveanna Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $4.70. The company had a trading volume of 123,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 188,167. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.80. Aveanna Healthcare has a twelve month low of $1.34 and a twelve month high of $5.95. The company has a market cap of $908.16 million, a P/E ratio of -7.44 and a beta of 2.12.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $504.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $494.02 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Aveanna Healthcare will post -0.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAH. Creative Planning increased its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 21.3% in the third 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. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Aveanna Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $101,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 45,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 12,075 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Aveanna Healthcare by 155.8% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 158,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 96,600 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 176.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 81,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 51,890 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

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.