Short Interest in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) Rises By 21.7%

Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,400,000 shares, an increase of 21.7% from the April 30th total of 1,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 223,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days. Approximately 13.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Medifast Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE MED traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.69. The stock had a trading volume of 256,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,485. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.12. The company has a market capitalization of $139.42 million, a PE ratio of 70.47 and a beta of 0.88. Medifast has a 1 year low of $11.57 and a 1 year high of $22.66.

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

Institutional Trading of Medifast

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Medifast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,938,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in Medifast in the 4th quarter valued at $374,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 244,185 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,303,000 after acquiring an additional 8,058 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 103.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 117,157 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,064,000 after acquiring an additional 59,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Medifast by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 245,929 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MED. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Medifast from $17.00 to $16.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Medifast from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

About Medifast

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.