Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,670,000 shares, an increase of 7.5% from the January 15th total of 14,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.0 days. Approximately 16.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Herbalife from $13.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Herbalife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Herbalife has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herbalife

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 44,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Herbalife by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 57,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,516 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Herbalife by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 198,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Herbalife by 3.6% during the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 92,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Herbalife by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 59,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 3,458 shares during the period.

Herbalife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLF traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $5.80. 4,024,363 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,050,273. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $6.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $584.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.82, a PEG ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.15. Herbalife has a one year low of $5.04 and a one year high of $12.79.

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.