Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $23.18 and traded as high as $26.92. Lifeway Foods shares last traded at $25.98, with a volume of 48,401 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on Lifeway Foods in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock.

Lifeway Foods Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.19. The company has a market capitalization of $394.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.36 and a beta of 0.75.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $46.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.50 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 14.20% and a net margin of 5.39%.

Insider Transactions at Lifeway Foods

In other news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 9,561 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.73, for a total value of $226,882.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 896,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,268,297.26. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Julie Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.07, for a total value of $1,103,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,132,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,063,899.81. This trade represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 124,451 shares of company stock valued at $2,877,812 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 18.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 4th quarter worth $388,000. Beryl Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 4th quarter worth $3,607,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,855 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 712.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 85,959 shares of the company's stock worth $2,132,000 after purchasing an additional 75,383 shares during the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Lifeway Foods

Lifeway Foods, Inc produces and markets probiotic-based products in the United States and internationally. Its primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product in various organic and non-organic sizes, flavors, and types. The company offers European-style soft cheeses; cream and other products; ProBugs, a line of kefir products designed for children; drinkable yogurt; and fresh made butter and sour cream.