Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $8.02, but opened at $7.81. Herbalife shares last traded at $7.79, with a volume of 954,376 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. B. Riley dropped their price target 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 reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Herbalife in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.90.

Herbalife Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.24. The firm has a market cap of $819.22 million, a PE ratio of 3.26, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.15.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 19.71%. Equities analysts forecast that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 641.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,714 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Herbalife by 110.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 5,524 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 12,307.6% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 11,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 11,323 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.