Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $8.68, but opened at $9.56. Herbalife shares last traded at $9.64, with a volume of 588,702 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.12. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 2.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.50 target price on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho cut their target price on Herbalife from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Herbalife currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.50.

Insider Transactions at Herbalife

In other news, EVP Henry C. Wang acquired 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.30 per share, with a total value of $25,835.40. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,604.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Herbalife news, CEO Michael Johnson purchased 61,725 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.07 per share, with a total value of $498,120.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 603,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,871,915.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Henry C. Wang acquired 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.30 per share, with a total value of $25,835.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 176,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,604.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 85,757 shares of company stock valued at $723,278 in the last quarter. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PEAK6 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the third quarter valued at $146,000. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Herbalife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in shares of Herbalife by 21.3% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Herbalife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $184,000. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. boosted its position in Herbalife by 10.2% during the third quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 17,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Trading Up 2.1 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $955.99 million, a PE ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.24.

Herbalife Company Profile

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.