Medifast (NYSE:MED) Upgraded to “Neutral” at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Medifast (NYSE:MED) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $17.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $16.50. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Medifast’s Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.10) EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.83 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $0.19 EPS.

Medifast Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE MED opened at $19.19 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Medifast has a 1-year low of $17.07 and a 1-year high of $76.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.81. The company has a market capitalization of $209.90 million, a PE ratio of 29.08 and a beta of 1.13.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The specialty retailer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.50. Medifast had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.09%. The firm had revenue of $140.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Medifast will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Medifast

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 2,000.1% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 338,228 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,376,000 after purchasing an additional 322,123 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Medifast by 117.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 389,951 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,509,000 after purchasing an additional 210,669 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Medifast by 415.1% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 215,090 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,693,000 after buying an additional 173,337 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Medifast by 20.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 958,610 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,917,000 after buying an additional 161,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Medifast by 37.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 469,216 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,238,000 after buying an additional 128,719 shares during the last quarter. 95.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.