Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Up 7.6% – What’s Next?

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)’s share price shot up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $7.11 and last traded at $7.17. 201,798 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 2,243,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HLF shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Herbalife from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Herbalife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $7.50 to $14.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Herbalife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.50.

Herbalife Stock Up 11.0%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.25 and a 200 day moving average of $7.19. The firm has a market cap of $752.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.88.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.19. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 20.78%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Herbalife

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.75 per share, with a total value of $33,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 166,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,126,284.75. This trade represents a 3.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 17,500 shares of company stock valued at $128,650. Corporate insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HLF. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Herbalife by 641.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,714 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Herbalife by 4,406.4% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 4,803 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Herbalife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Herbalife by 199.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 5,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Herbalife by 110.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 5,524 shares during the last quarter.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Ltd. provides health and wellness products in North America, Mexico, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and the Asia Pacific. It offers products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; outer nutrition; and literature and promotional items.