Herbalife Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:HLF)

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 17,980 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 480% compared to the typical volume of 3,098 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on HLF. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of Herbalife in a research note on Thursday. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLF. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 271.4% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 116,548 shares during the last quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 2,228,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,021,000 after acquiring an additional 677,739 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 139.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 38,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 22,138 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the 3rd quarter worth about $154,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 550,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,960,000 after acquiring an additional 130,818 shares during the last quarter.

Herbalife Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HLF opened at $8.27 on Friday. Herbalife has a 52 week low of $5.04 and a 52 week high of $12.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $833.33 million, a P/E ratio of 3.32, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.24.

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

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.