Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) Stock

Key Points

• Mizuho has increased its price target for Herbalife stock from $8.00 to $9.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating, which implies a downside of 7.64% from the current price.
• Analysts' consensus yields a Moderate Buy rating for Herbalife, with an average price target of $11.50, despite Citigroup lowering their target to $11.00.
• Herbalife's Director, Juan Miguel Mendoza, recently purchased 5,000 shares at an average price of $6.75, increasing his ownership stake in the company.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by Mizuho from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Mizuho's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 4.51% from the company's current price.

HLF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Herbalife from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Herbalife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.50.

Herbalife Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of NYSE HLF traded down $0.33 on Monday, hitting $9.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,615,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,851,894. Herbalife has a 12-month low of $5.04 and a 12-month high of $12.79. The business has a 50 day moving average of $8.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $959.94 million, a P/E ratio of 3.44, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.89.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.19. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.66% and a negative return on equity of 23.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. Herbalife's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Herbalife will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herbalife

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.75 per share, for a total transaction of $33,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 166,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,126,284.75. This trade represents a 3.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 13,143 shares of company stock valued at $90,973. Corporate insiders own 1.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Herbalife by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 50,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Herbalife by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 62,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 1,644 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Herbalife by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 82,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 2,135 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Herbalife by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 57,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 2,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Herbalife by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 59,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 2,561 shares during the last quarter.

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.