Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,980,000 shares, a decrease of 14.3% from the June 30th total of 2,310,000 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 351,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Amedisys

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in Amedisys in the 4th quarter valued at $23,015,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its position in Amedisys by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 35,181 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,344,000 after acquiring an additional 4,299 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Amedisys by 146.0% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 39,855 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,789,000 after acquiring an additional 23,655 shares during the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 461,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in Amedisys by 604.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 49,297 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,686,000 after acquiring an additional 42,297 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.36% of the company’s stock.

Amedisys Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMED opened at $98.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.96 and its 200 day moving average is $93.88. Amedisys has a fifty-two week low of $89.55 and a fifty-two week high of $98.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of -153.20, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AMED shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Amedisys in a report on Thursday, July 25th. William Blair cut Amedisys from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. StockNews.com raised Amedisys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Amedisys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amedisys currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.75.

About Amedisys

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.