AdaptHealth Corp. (NASDAQ:AHCO) Short Interest Up 22.5% in March

AdaptHealth Corp. (NASDAQ:AHCO) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 9,040,635 shares, a growth of 22.5% from the February 26th total of 7,377,638 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,767,075 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 6.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

AdaptHealth Price Performance

AHCO stock opened at $11.20 on Monday. AdaptHealth has a 1 year low of $7.11 and a 1 year high of $11.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $10.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.36, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.76.

AdaptHealth (NASDAQ:AHCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported ($0.76) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($1.10). AdaptHealth had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.42%. The company had revenue of $846.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $832.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. AdaptHealth’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AdaptHealth will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AdaptHealth

In related news, major shareholder Richard M. Cashin, Jr. bought 820,528 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.73 per share, with a total value of $7,983,737.44. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 14,638,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,434,628.84. This represents a 5.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have bought 2,494,518 shares of company stock valued at $24,352,291 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AdaptHealth

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in AdaptHealth by 433.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in AdaptHealth by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,794 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AdaptHealth by 197.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 552,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,505,000 after purchasing an additional 366,566 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of AdaptHealth by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 88,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 17,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of AdaptHealth by 699.1% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 118,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after buying an additional 104,058 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AHCO shares. Weiss Ratings cut AdaptHealth from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research raised AdaptHealth from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded AdaptHealth from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on AdaptHealth from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of AdaptHealth in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.25.

AdaptHealth Company Profile

AdaptHealth, Inc operates as a leading provider of home medical equipment (HME) and related services in the United States. The company focuses on delivering respiratory care, mobility solutions and bathroom safety products to patients with chronic and acute medical needs. Through its comprehensive service offerings, AdaptHealth aims to enhance quality of life and clinical outcomes for patients who require long-term support outside of a hospital setting.

The company’s respiratory portfolio includes products such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and associated supplies for patients with sleep apnea, COPD and other pulmonary conditions.