Short Interest in Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED) Drops By 8.2%

Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, a decline of 8.2% from the May 31st total of 2,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 271,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.7 days. Approximately 7.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AMED. StockNews.com upgraded Amedisys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Amedisys in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Amedisys in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Amedisys from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Water Island Capital LLC raised its position in Amedisys by 185.0% in the 4th quarter. Water Island Capital LLC now owns 710,697 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $67,559,000 after purchasing an additional 461,368 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Amedisys in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,032,000. Segantii Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in Amedisys during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,776,000. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amedisys in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $23,015,000. Finally, Alpine Associates Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Amedisys by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 1,271,097 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $120,830,000 after purchasing an additional 237,600 shares during the last quarter. 94.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amedisys Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMED opened at $91.80 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $93.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Amedisys has a 1 year low of $89.55 and a 1 year high of $97.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of -143.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.80.

Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $571.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.38 million. Amedisys had a negative net margin of 0.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. Analysts predict that Amedisys will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Amedisys Company Profile

Amedisys, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides healthcare services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Home Health, Hospice, and High Acuity Care. The Home Health segment offers a range of services in the homes of individuals for the recovery of patients from surgery, chronic disability, or terminal illness, as well as prevents avoidable hospital readmissions through its skilled nurses; nursing services, rehabilitation therapists specialized in physical, speech, and occupational therapy; and social workers and aides for assisting its patients.