Medifast (NYSE:MED) Price Target Lowered to $25.00 at DA Davidson

Medifast (NYSE:MED) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at DA Davidson from $40.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price indicates a potential downside of 10.23% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, TheStreet cut shares of Medifast from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Medifast Stock Down 21.6 %

Shares of MED stock traded down $7.66 on Tuesday, hitting $27.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,092,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,212. Medifast has a one year low of $26.02 and a one year high of $109.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.44. The company has a market cap of $303.57 million, a PE ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.14.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $174.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.90 million. Medifast had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 56.06%. Medifast’s revenue was down 49.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Medifast will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medifast

In other news, Director Scott Schlackman sold 4,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total transaction of $159,850.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $307,040.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medifast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC grew its position in Medifast by 223.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 531 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medifast during the 3rd quarter worth about $531,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Medifast by 54.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 34,880 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after buying an additional 12,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Medifast by 2.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 194,369 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,549,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Finally, Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV increased its position in shares of Medifast by 38.5% during the third quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV now owns 8,087 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

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.