Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Short Interest Up 8.8% in December

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Afya in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Afya from $25.00 to $20.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Afya

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Afya by 19.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 266,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,704,000 after purchasing an additional 43,800 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Afya by 41.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 336,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,948,000 after acquiring an additional 99,416 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Afya by 136.9% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 35,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 20,370 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Afya by 45.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 291,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,139,000 after acquiring an additional 90,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Afya in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

Afya Price Performance

Shares of AFYA opened at $15.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Afya has a 52-week low of $14.52 and a 52-week high of $22.48.

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.