Long Focus Capital Management LLC Buys 1,020,127 Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)

Long Focus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF - Free Report) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,758,127 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,020,127 shares during the quarter. Herbalife comprises 1.0% of Long Focus Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Long Focus Capital Management LLC owned 4.72% of Herbalife worth $31,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 94,616 shares of the company's stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 33,140 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Herbalife by 52.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 33,292 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 11,507 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 192.0% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 40,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 26,500 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,444,343 shares of the company's stock worth $9,663,000 after buying an additional 658,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Herbalife by 374.1% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 165,300 shares of the company's stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 130,433 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HLF shares. DA Davidson upgraded Herbalife from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $7.50 to $14.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Herbalife from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Herbalife has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.00.

Herbalife Trading Up 5.3 %

Herbalife stock opened at $6.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $691.55 million, a PE ratio of 2.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.26. Herbalife Ltd. has a 12 month low of $5.04 and a 12 month high of $12.79.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 20.78%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Herbalife

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.25 per share, for a total transaction of $41,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 132,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,093,125. The trade was a 3.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Herbalife 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.

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