Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Trading 5.4% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) shares traded up 5.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.45 and last traded at $8.38. 674,456 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 2,118,369 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $13.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.90.

Herbalife Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $7.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.02. The firm has a market cap of $802.79 million, a PE ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.17.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.38. Herbalife had a net margin of 1.73% and a negative return on equity of 18.66%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.11 per share, for a total transaction of $71,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 120,000 shares in the company, valued at $853,200. The trade was a 9.09 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders bought a total of 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $112,275 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLF. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of 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. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 465.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,908 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 270.4% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 15,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 11,594 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Herbalife in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $490,000. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 58,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 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.