Medifast (NYSE:MED) Director Acquires 5,557 Shares of Stock

Medifast Inc (NYSE:MED) Director Parsa Kiai acquired 5,557 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.24 per share, with a total value of $68,017.68. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 712,891 shares in the company, valued at $8,725,785.84. This represents a 0.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Parsa Kiai also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, August 26th, Parsa Kiai bought 43,150 shares of Medifast stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.26 per share, for a total transaction of $529,019.00.
• On Monday, August 24th, Parsa Kiai bought 4,329 shares of Medifast stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.00 per share, for a total transaction of $51,948.00.
• On Thursday, August 20th, Parsa Kiai bought 43,150 shares of Medifast stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.60 per share, for a total transaction of $500,540.00.
• On Wednesday, August 19th, Parsa Kiai purchased 29,337 shares of Medifast stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.66 per share, with a total value of $342,069.42.

Medifast Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Medifast stock traded down $0.20 on Friday, hitting $12.05. 109,776 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 206,063. The company has a market cap of $134.77 million, a PE ratio of -3.27 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.33. Medifast Inc has a 52 week low of $9.22 and a 52 week high of $13.45.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $72.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.30 million. Medifast had a negative return on equity of 6.90% and a negative net margin of 13.64%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Medifast Inc will post -0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medifast

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Medifast during the second quarter valued at about $3,920,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Medifast by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 361,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 35,522 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Medifast during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $924,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Medifast by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 71,584 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 26,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Medifast by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 56,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 7,346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MED. Zacks Research raised shares of Medifast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Medifast from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medifast presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.00.

About Medifast

Medifast, Inc (NYSE: MED) is a health and wellness company that provides weight-management products, programs and support services. Its primary brand, OPTAVIA, offers meal-replacement products, including shakes, bars, soups and other portion-controlled foods, along with structured plans intended to help customers establish healthier eating and lifestyle habits.

The company distributes its products primarily through an independent network of coaches who provide guidance, accountability and support to clients.