Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Short Interest Update

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 978,300 shares, an increase of 13.1% from the September 30th total of 865,100 shares. Currently, 11.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 140,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Afya Trading Up 1.0 %

Afya stock opened at $16.73 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Afya has a 12-month low of $14.64 and a 12-month high of $22.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.77 and a 200 day moving average of $17.23.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $155.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.83 million. Afya had a net margin of 18.12% and a return on equity of 18.82%. As a group, research analysts predict that Afya will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group initiated coverage on Afya in a report on Friday, August 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.50 target price on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Afya

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFYA. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Afya by 26.9% during the second quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Afya in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $417,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Afya by 136.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 35,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 20,370 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Afya by 19.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 266,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,704,000 after buying an additional 43,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Afya by 45.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 291,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,139,000 after buying an additional 90,383 shares in the last quarter. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.