Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,670,000 shares, an increase of 7.5% from the January 15th total of 14,580,000 shares. Approximately 16.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $13.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.90.

Institutional Trading of Herbalife

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 641.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,714 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Herbalife by 110.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 5,524 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 12,307.6% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 11,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 11,323 shares in the last quarter.

Herbalife Price Performance

NYSE:HLF traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $5.80. 4,024,363 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,050,273. The stock has a market capitalization of $584.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.82, a PEG ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.15. Herbalife has a 52-week low of $5.04 and a 52-week high of $12.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $6.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.28.

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.