Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Lifeway Foods' stock rating has been upgraded from "hold" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen, indicating positive sentiment from analysts.
• Lake Street Capital also reaffirmed their "buy" rating and increased the target price for Lifeway Foods from $30.00 to $33.00.
• Insider trading activity includes significant sales, with CEO Julie Smolyansky selling 50,000 shares, decreasing her ownership stake by 2.29%.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Lake Street Capital increased their price target on Lifeway Foods from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

NASDAQ LWAY traded down $0.19 on Friday, reaching $29.80. The stock had a trading volume of 47,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 75,386. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.85. The company has a market cap of $453.76 million, a P/E ratio of 43.19 and a beta of 0.69. Lifeway Foods has a 1-year low of $17.82 and a 1-year high of $31.00.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $53.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.00 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 5.49%.

Insider Activity at Lifeway Foods

In related news, Director Jason Scott Scher sold 16,366 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.24, for a total value of $396,711.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24.24. This trade represents a 99.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Julie Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 78,566 shares of company stock valued at $1,788,672. 18.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JBF Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $672,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Lifeway Foods by 8.2% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $388,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the first quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Beryl Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $3,607,000. 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.