Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) Short Interest Down 15.0% in June

Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,940,000 shares, a decrease of 15.0% from the June 15th total of 3,460,000 shares. Approximately 27.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 580,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Medifast Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MED traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $18.63. 259,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 477,691. The company has a market cap of $203.81 million, a PE ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.78. Medifast has a 12 month low of $17.89 and a 12 month high of $109.52.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.90 million. Medifast had a return on equity of 36.64% and a net margin of 7.55%. The company’s revenue was down 49.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Medifast will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson lowered Medifast from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $25.00 to $17.50 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Medifast by 370.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,684 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,689 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. purchased a new position in shares of Medifast in the first quarter worth $769,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Medifast in the first quarter worth $115,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medifast during the first quarter worth $229,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Medifast by 34.7% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 174,335 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,681,000 after buying an additional 44,930 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

Medifast Company Profile

Medifast, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of weight loss, weight management, and healthy living products in the United States and the Asia-Pacific. It offers bars, puffs, cereal, crunchers, drinks, hearty choices, oatmeal, pancakes, pudding, soft serve, shakes, smoothies, soft bakes, and soups under the OPTAVIA, OPTAVIA ACTIVE, and Optimal Health brand names.