Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) gapped down before the market opened 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 changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HLF. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley decreased their target price on shares of Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.90.

Herbalife Stock Up 1.3 %

The stock 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $6.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.24.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Herbalife by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,271,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,406,000 after buying an additional 785,574 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Herbalife by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 7,088,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,425,000 after acquiring an additional 638,567 shares in the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Herbalife by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,758,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,127 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 777.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,987,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Herbalife by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,696,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,040,000 after purchasing an additional 216,603 shares during the period.

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.