Aveanna Healthcare Dips as PE Firm Launches Secondary Share Offering
Affiliates of J.H. Whitney to sell 10 million shares, capitalizing on the healthcare provider's recent surge to 52-week highs.
Shares of Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAH) edged lower in Tuesday trading after a key private equity backer announced plans to sell a significant stake in the company, capitalizing on a recent rally that pushed the stock to a 52-week high.
Affiliates of J.H. Whitney Equity Partners VII, LLC are offering 10 million shares of Aveanna's common stock in a secondary offering, published Tuesday. The stock fell modestly to $10.23, a dip of about 0.4%, as the market absorbed the news of the increased share supply. The transaction is being managed by a syndicate of banks led by Jefferies and J.P. Morgan.
Crucially, the offering is a secondary sale, meaning Aveanna itself is not issuing new equity and will not receive any proceeds. The sale represents a move by an early investor to monetize a portion of its investment following a period of substantial gains and positive operational developments for the Atlanta-based home care provider.
The timing of the sale is notable. Aveanna's stock has been on a strong upward trajectory, hitting a new 52-week high of $10.28 just prior to the announcement. This momentum has been fueled by a string of positive financial news that has bolstered investor confidence.
Coinciding with the offering, Aveanna released strong preliminary financial results for the third quarter of 2025. The company projects revenue to be between $616 million and $624 million, representing a year-over-year increase of more than 21%. More impressively, Adjusted EBITDA is expected to land between $77 million and $81 million, a surge of over 60% from the prior year. This robust performance follows a significant debt refinancing completed in September, which improved the company's liquidity and financial flexibility.
This sale by J.H. Whitney is a classic example of a private equity firm harvesting returns after a successful holding period. Such secondary offerings can create short-term pressure on a stock's price due to the sudden increase in the volume of shares available for trading. However, unlike a primary offering, they do not dilute the ownership stake of existing shareholders.
Analysts have a consensus target price of $9.22 on the stock, with sentiment turning more positive in recent weeks leading up to the offering. The increased public float resulting from the sale could also enhance trading liquidity in the long run, making the stock more accessible to a wider range of institutional investors.
The selling stockholders have also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1.5 million shares. With a market capitalization of approximately $2.15 billion, Aveanna is a major player in the U.S. home healthcare market. The market's focus will now shift back to the company's underlying fundamentals and its ability to sustain the growth demonstrated in its latest financial preview.