Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $9.47, but opened at $9.76. Herbalife shares last traded at $10.01, with a volume of 171,791 shares traded.

Specifically, EVP Henry C. Wang acquired 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.30 per share, with a total value of $25,835.40. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,604.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 16,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.40 per share, with a total value of $151,142.60. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 54,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,446.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Henry C. Wang purchased 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.30 per share, for a total transaction of $25,835.40. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,604.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 85,757 shares of company stock valued at $723,278. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on HLF. Bank of America decreased their price target on Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Herbalife from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Mizuho cut their price objective on Herbalife from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.50.

Herbalife Trading Up 3.5 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.56. The firm has a market cap of $977.94 million, a P/E ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.21.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.10). Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 2.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Herbalife’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 164.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,288,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,658,000 after purchasing an additional 801,644 shares during the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 136.7% during the 4th quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 132,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,022,000 after purchasing an additional 76,514 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 78,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 523.6% during the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 177,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,705,000 after purchasing an additional 148,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Herbalife by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 162,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,474,000 after buying an additional 48,664 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.