Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.97, but opened at $16.08. Afya shares last traded at $15.91, with a volume of 15,589 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AFYA shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Afya from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Afya from $25.00 to $20.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Afya in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $15.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $17.60.

Afya Trading Down 6.2 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.47. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Institutional Trading of Afya

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFYA. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Afya by 73.8% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 5,636 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Afya during the third quarter valued at $481,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Afya in the 3rd quarter worth about $822,000. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in Afya in the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Afya during the 3rd quarter valued at about $842,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

About Afya

Afya Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a medical education group in Brazil. The company operates through three segments: Undergrad, Continuing Education, and Digital Services. It offers educational products and services, including medical schools, medical residency preparatory courses, graduate courses, and other programs to lifelong medical learners enrolled across its distribution network, as well as to third-party medical schools.