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

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $6.81, but opened at $7.29. Herbalife shares last traded at $7.66, with a volume of 970,154 shares traded.

The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 18.69% and a net margin of 1.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HLF shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Herbalife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. B. Riley lowered their target price on Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Herbalife from $13.00 to $7.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herbalife

In other Herbalife news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.11 per share, for a total transaction of $71,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 120,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $853,200. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HLF. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Herbalife by 465.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 2,908 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in Herbalife by 240.0% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 5,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Herbalife by 22.9% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,558 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Herbalife during the third quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,684 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period.

Herbalife Trading Up 10.9 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $760.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.19.

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.