Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) Short Interest Up 26.8% in April

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,300,000 shares, a growth of 26.8% from the March 31st total of 12,070,000 shares. Approximately 16.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Herbalife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLF traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.81. 914,444 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,760,737. Herbalife has a 52 week low of $6.68 and a 52 week high of $19.48. The company has a market cap of $879.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.72.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.10). Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 2.81%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Herbalife will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Herbalife from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Herbalife from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho reduced their target price on Herbalife from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Herbalife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Johnson purchased 61,725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.07 per share, with a total value of $498,120.75. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 603,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,871,915.49. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael Johnson purchased 61,725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.07 per share, with a total value of $498,120.75. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 603,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,871,915.49. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 16,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.40 per share, for a total transaction of $151,142.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 54,622 shares in the company, valued at $513,446.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 85,757 shares of company stock valued at $723,278 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PEAK6 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the third quarter worth $146,000. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the fourth quarter valued at $165,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the fourth quarter valued at $184,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Herbalife during the fourth quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Herbalife by 10.2% during the third quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 17,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Ltd. provides health and wellness products in North America, Mexico, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and the Asia Pacific. It offers products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; outer nutrition; and literature and promotional items.