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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Medifast

In other Medifast news, Director Parsa Kiai purchased 43,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.26 per share, with a total value of $529,019.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 707,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,673,851.92. This represents a 6.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel Chard sold 9,544 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $111,951.12. Following the sale, the director owned 130,609 shares in the company, valued at $1,532,043.57. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders acquired a total of 119,966 shares of company stock worth $1,423,576 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MED. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Medifast by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,646 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Medifast during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Medifast during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $114,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Medifast during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Chico Wealth RIA acquired a new position in Medifast during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $223,000. Institutional investors own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

Medifast Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MED traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $12.04. 97,874 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 209,346. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.46. The company has a market cap of $134.62 million, a PE ratio of -5.18 and a beta of 0.68. Medifast has a 1-year low of $9.22 and a 1-year high of $13.58.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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