Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Edward Smolyansky Sells 35,000 Shares

Key Points

• Major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 35,000 Lifeway Foods shares at an average price of $28.74, generating $1.01 million and reducing his stake by 3.48% to 969,793 shares. The sale follows several other disposals totaling hundreds of thousands of shares since June.
• Lifeway Foods shares rose 4.5% to $25.82, but the company’s latest quarterly earnings missed expectations: adjusted earnings were $0.01 per share versus analysts’ estimate of $0.26, while revenue of $66.89 million exceeded forecasts.
• Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy”, with a consensus price target of $35, although Weiss Ratings recently downgraded the stock to “hold.” Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company.

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 35,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.74, for a total value of $1,005,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 969,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,871,850.82. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Edward Smolyansky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 14th, Edward Smolyansky sold 75,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.45, for a total transaction of $1,908,750.00.
• On Tuesday, July 7th, Edward Smolyansky sold 39,098 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.41, for a total transaction of $1,149,872.18.
• On Monday, July 6th, Edward Smolyansky sold 7,984 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.79, for a total transaction of $237,843.36.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.56, for a total transaction of $1,478,000.00.
• On Friday, June 26th, Edward Smolyansky sold 111,548 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total transaction of $3,263,894.48.
• On Wednesday, June 24th, Edward Smolyansky sold 38,452 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.85, for a total value of $1,147,792.20.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,310,000.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Up 4.5%

NASDAQ LWAY traded up $1.12 on Friday, reaching $25.82. The stock had a trading volume of 435,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,036. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.31 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The company has a market capitalization of $394.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89 and a beta of 0.44.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $66.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $61.40 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 4.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 5.7% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 9.0% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lifeway Foods has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

Lifeway Foods, Inc NASDAQ: LWAY is a Chicago-based food company specializing in probiotic-rich cultured dairy products. Established in 1986 by Michael Smolyansky, the company pioneered the introduction of kefir to the U.S. market. Under the leadership of CEO Julie Smolyansky, who succeeded her father in 2002, Lifeway has grown from a single product operation into a diversified portfolio of fermented foods and beverages aimed at promoting digestive health and wellness.

The company's flagship product is kefir, a cultured milk beverage naturally rich in probiotics, vitamins and minerals.

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