Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $6.81, but opened at $7.29. Herbalife shares last traded at $7.66, with a volume of 970,154 shares traded.

The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 1.63% and a negative return on equity of 18.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Herbalife from $9.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Herbalife has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.11 per share, for a total transaction of $71,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 120,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,200. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Herbalife by 5,249.2% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 138,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 136,008 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Herbalife during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,397,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Herbalife by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 82,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 3,647 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its position in Herbalife by 128.3% during the 2nd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 5,124,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,879,603 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in Herbalife by 409.4% in the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 127,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after buying an additional 102,784 shares during the period.

Herbalife Stock Up 8.4 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.30. The stock has a market cap of $743.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.19.

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.