Medifast (NYSE:MED) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Medifast (NYSE:MED) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Medifast in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $16.50.

Medifast Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MED opened at $11.95 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.54. Medifast has a 1-year low of $11.25 and a 1-year high of $21.98. The stock has a market cap of $131.34 million, a P/E ratio of 37.34 and a beta of 0.82.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The specialty retailer reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $89.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.10 million. Medifast had a net margin of 0.76% and a return on equity of 2.00%. Medifast has set its Q4 2025 guidance at -1.250–0.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Medifast will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Medifast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MED. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Medifast by 132.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 265,572 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,580,000 after acquiring an additional 151,434 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Medifast by 75.0% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,419 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 10,469 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medifast during the first quarter valued at $407,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Medifast by 114.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 19,514 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 10,401 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its position in Medifast by 184.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 32,137 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 20,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.