Marshall Wace LLP Takes $1.84 Million Position in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 104,226 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,836,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.95% of Medifast as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Medifast by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,459 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Medifast by 2,308.8% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,442 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 10,967 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Medifast by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,194 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Medifast by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Medifast during the fourth quarter worth $374,000. Institutional investors own 95.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson decreased their price target on Medifast from $17.00 to $16.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Medifast Price Performance

MED opened at $12.32 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $134.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.44 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.14. Medifast, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.57 and a fifty-two week high of $36.30.

Medifast (NYSE:MED - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.26. Medifast had a net margin of 0.35% and a return on equity of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $119.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.25 million. As a group, analysts expect that Medifast, Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

About Medifast

Medifast, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of weight loss, weight management, and healthy living products in the United States and the Asia-Pacific. It offers bars, puffs, cereal, crunchers, drinks, hearty choices, oatmeal, pancakes, pudding, soft serve, shakes, smoothies, soft bakes, and soups under the OPTAVIA, OPTAVIA ACTIVE, and Optimal Health brand names.

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