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Aveanna Healthcare (AVAH) shares soared 6.2% in the last trading session to close at $5.51. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 12.8% gain over the past four weeks.
The recent surge in Aveanna Healthcare Holdings' shares can be attributed to heightened investor confidence following the company’s strong fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial performance. Aveanna reported an 8.6% increase in quarterly revenue and achieved a notable turnaround with a net income of $29.2 million, compared to a net loss in the prior year. Investors are particularly optimistic about Aveanna’s robust outlook for 2025, which includes projected revenue between $2.10 billion and $2.12 billion and continued EBITDA improvement.
This home health care services provider is expected to post break-even quarterly earnings per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +100%. Revenues are expected to be $498.92 million, up 4.2% from the year-ago quarter.
While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For Aveanna, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on AVAH going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Aveanna belongs to the Zacks Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry. Another stock from the same industry, Quest Diagnostics (DGX), closed the last trading session 2% higher at $173.48. Over the past month, DGX has returned 0.8%.
For Quest Diagnostics , the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed +0.1% over the past month to $2.20. This represents a change of +7.8% from what the company reported a year ago. Quest Diagnostics currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
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Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (AVAH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX) : Free Stock Analysis Report