Medifast Inc (NYSE:MED) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Medifast Inc (NYSE:MED) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,053,225 shares, a decline of 43.4% from the September 15th total of 1,862,070 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 144,284 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.3 days. Approximately 9.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Medifast Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MED traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.89. 94,140 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 208,906. Medifast has a twelve month low of $9.22 and a twelve month high of $13.58. The company has a market cap of $132.94 million, a PE ratio of -5.10 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.48.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The specialty retailer reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.65) by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $76.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.70 million. Medifast had a negative return on equity of 6.69% and a negative net margin of 8.08%. Medifast has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.750–0.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at -0.650–0.150 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Medifast will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Parsa Kiai purchased 43,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.26 per share, for a total transaction of $529,019.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 707,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,673,851.92. The trade was a 6.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel Chard sold 9,545 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.98, for a total transaction of $114,349.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 140,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,679,032.94. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders purchased 119,966 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,576 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Medifast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Medifast during the 2nd quarter worth $3,920,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Medifast by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 361,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 35,522 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Medifast in the second quarter valued at $924,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Medifast by 59.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 71,584 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 26,811 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Medifast by 15.1% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 56,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 7,346 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Medifast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised Medifast from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medifast currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.00.

Medifast Company Profile

Medifast, Inc is a health and wellness company that provides weight-management and healthy-living products and services. Its primary brand, OPTAVIA, offers meal replacements, snacks, supplements and other nutrition products designed to support structured weight-management programs.

The company’s programs combine nutrition products with guidance from independent OPTAVIA Coaches. These coaches provide accountability, support and lifestyle guidance intended to help clients develop healthier eating and activity habits.

Medifast was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.