DA Davidson Cuts Medifast (NYSE:MED) Price Target to $25.00

Medifast (NYSE:MED) had its price target lowered by analysts at DA Davidson from $40.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. DA Davidson’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 5.14% from the company’s current price.

Separately, TheStreet downgraded Medifast from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st.

Medifast Stock Performance

Medifast stock opened at $26.36 on Tuesday. Medifast has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $109.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.93. The stock has a market cap of $288.32 million, a PE ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.14.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $174.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.90 million. Medifast had a return on equity of 37.47% and a net margin of 7.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 49.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Medifast will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medifast

In related news, Director Scott Schlackman sold 4,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total transaction of $159,850.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $307,040.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prairiewood Capital LLC raised its position in Medifast by 26.7% during the first quarter. Prairiewood Capital LLC now owns 7,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Medifast by 21.1% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 26,413 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Medifast by 249.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 42,893 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 30,610 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Medifast by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Medifast in the first quarter valued at approximately $401,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

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.