Marshall Wace LLP Buys Shares of 104,226 Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 104,226 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,836,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.95% of Medifast at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MED. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Medifast by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,459 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Medifast by 2,308.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,442 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 10,967 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Medifast by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,194 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Medifast by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Medifast during the fourth quarter worth about $374,000. 95.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson cut their price target on Medifast from $17.00 to $16.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Medifast Stock Up 5.4 %

NYSE MED traded up $0.68 on Wednesday, reaching $13.18. The company had a trading volume of 277,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,306. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.16 million, a P/E ratio of 73.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company's fifty day moving average is $13.47 and its 200 day moving average is $16.08. Medifast, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.57 and a 52-week high of $29.63.

Medifast (NYSE:MED - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $115.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $114.85 million. Medifast had a return on equity of 10.64% and a net margin of 0.35%. On average, research analysts expect that Medifast, Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Medifast Company Profile

Medifast, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of weight loss, weight management, and healthy living products in the United States and the Asia-Pacific. It offers bars, puffs, cereal, crunchers, drinks, hearty choices, oatmeal, pancakes, pudding, soft serve, shakes, smoothies, soft bakes, and soups under the OPTAVIA, OPTAVIA ACTIVE, and Optimal Health brand names.