Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Trading 6% Higher – Should You Buy?

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) shares rose 6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $8.20 and last traded at $8.18. Approximately 612,382 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 2,122,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on HLF. Mizuho boosted their price target on Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley lowered their target price on Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Herbalife from $13.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.90.

Herbalife Trading Up 1.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $856.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.38 and its 200 day moving average is $9.23.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.38. Herbalife had a net margin of 1.73% and a negative return on equity of 18.66%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Analysts predict that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herbalife

In other news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 120,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,200. This represents a 9.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 25,000 shares of company stock worth $199,475. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Herbalife by 465.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,908 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC increased its position in Herbalife by 240.0% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Herbalife by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Herbalife in the third quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 10.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares in 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.