Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,240,000 shares, a growth of 8.8% from the December 15th total of 1,140,000 shares. Approximately 9.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 119,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.4 days.

Afya Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Afya stock opened at $15.74 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.74. Afya has a 12 month low of $14.52 and a 12 month high of $22.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Afya

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Afya by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Afya in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Afya in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Afya by 73.8% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 5,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Afya in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AFYA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Afya in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Afya from $25.00 to $20.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.60.

Afya Company Profile

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.