Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $23.26 and traded as high as $25.33. Lifeway Foods shares last traded at $25.07, with a volume of 53,067 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $23.98 and its 200-day moving average is $23.26. The company has a market capitalization of $381.06 million, a P/E ratio of 37.99 and a beta of 0.75.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $48.50 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 14.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lifeway Foods

In other Lifeway Foods news, CEO Julie Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.07, for a total transaction of $1,103,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,132,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,063,899.81. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 9,561 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.73, for a total transaction of $226,882.53. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 896,262 shares in the company, valued at $21,268,297.26. This represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 114,451 shares of company stock valued at $2,642,712. 18.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LWAY. Beryl Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $3,607,000. TIG Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $3,512,000. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $2,925,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Lifeway Foods by 712.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 85,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,132,000 after purchasing an additional 75,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the first quarter valued at $1,490,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.39% of the company's stock.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

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.