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

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $6.82, but opened at $6.97. Herbalife shares last traded at $7.14, with a volume of 214,542 shares traded.

Specifically, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.11 per share, with a total value of $71,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 120,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,200. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. B. Riley raised their price target on Herbalife from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson raised their price target on Herbalife from $9.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Herbalife from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.33.

Herbalife Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $719.14 million, a PE ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.76.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.11. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 18.69% and a net margin of 1.63%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Herbalife Ltd. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in Herbalife by 523.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Herbalife by 5,249.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 138,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 136,008 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Herbalife by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,624,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,788,000 after acquiring an additional 116,030 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Herbalife during the 1st quarter worth about $1,397,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Herbalife by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 82,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647 shares during the period.

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.