Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) Short Interest Update

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) was the recipient of 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 trading volume, of 2,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.0 days. Approximately 16.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herbalife

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HLF. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Herbalife by 641.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,714 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Herbalife in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Herbalife by 110.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 5,524 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in Herbalife in the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in Herbalife by 12,307.6% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 11,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 11,323 shares during the period.

Herbalife Stock Up 3.1 %

NYSE HLF traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, reaching $5.80. The company had a trading volume of 4,024,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,050,273. The stock has a market capitalization of $584.08 million, a P/E ratio of 6.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $6.34 and its 200 day moving average is $7.28. Herbalife has a 52-week low of $5.04 and a 52-week high of $12.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on HLF. Citigroup dropped their price target on Herbalife from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Herbalife from $13.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. B. Riley lowered their target price on Herbalife from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” 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 upped their target price on Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.90.

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.