Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 163.2% in September

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,411,623 shares, an increase of 163.2% from the August 31st total of 536,316 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 274,094 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Afya Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AFYA opened at $12.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.32. Afya has a 1-year low of $12.03 and a 1-year high of $16.16.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $187.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.62 million. Afya had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 17.58%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Afya will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AFYA. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Afya from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Afya from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Afya in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Bradesco Corretora raised Afya to an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Afya from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Lélio de Souza, Jr. sold 36,204 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $543,060.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Afya

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFYA. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of Afya during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $325,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Afya in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Afya in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

Afya Company Profile

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.