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Strength Seen in Amedisys (AMED): Can Its 15.4% Jump Turn into More Strength?

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Amedisys (AMED - Free Report) shares soared 15.4% in the last trading session to close at $91.74. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 0.5% gain over the past four weeks.

Amedisys scored a strong price rise, driven by optimism surrounding the company’s recent announcement of receiving unsolicited proposal from health services company Optum, to purchase all the outstanding shares of Amedisys’ common stock for $100 per share.

Last month, the company entered into an all-stock transaction with Option Care Health, Inc., subject to approval by both the companies’ stockholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Per Amedisys’ Board, the Optum-proposal could reasonably be expected to result in an “Amedisys Superior Proposal” as defined in Amedisys’ M&A agreement with Option Care Health. This is likely to have boosted investor’s confidence in the company’s stock.

This home health care and hospice services provider is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.08 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -26.5%. Revenues are expected to be $567.55 million, up 1.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Amedisys, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 4% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. And a negative trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't usually translate into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on AMED going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Amedisys is part of the Zacks Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry. Chemed (CHE - Free Report) , another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 0.2% higher at $543.52. CHE has returned -1.5% in the past month.

Chemed's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -0.5% over the past month to $5.09. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +5.2%. Chemed currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).


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