Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) Shares Acquired by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) by 20.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 958,610 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 161,487 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 8.76% of Medifast worth $20,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Medifast by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 3,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in Medifast by 54.5% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Medifast by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,589 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Medifast by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 65,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Medifast by 21.0% during 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 in the last quarter. 95.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $17.50 target price on shares of Medifast in a research note on Monday, July 22nd.

Medifast Price Performance

MED opened at $18.70 on Friday. Medifast, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.73 and a 12 month high of $82.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.86.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $168.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.44 million. Medifast had a return on equity of 25.77% and a net margin of 3.81%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Medifast, Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Medifast Profile

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.