Medifast (NYSE:MED) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Medifast (NYSE:MED) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of 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 issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Medifast Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MED opened at $11.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.46. Medifast has a 1-year low of $9.22 and a 1-year high of $13.58. The company has a market cap of $132.37 million, a PE ratio of -5.08 and a beta of 0.68.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The specialty retailer reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $76.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. Analysts anticipate that Medifast will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Medifast

In related news, Director Daniel Chard sold 9,544 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $111,951.12. Following the sale, the director owned 130,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,532,043.57. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Parsa Kiai bought 43,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.26 per share, for a total transaction of $529,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 707,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,673,851.92. This trade represents a 6.50% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 119,966 shares of company stock worth $1,423,576. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medifast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MED. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Medifast during the second quarter worth $3,920,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Medifast in the second quarter valued at $924,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Medifast in the second quarter valued at $701,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medifast in the second quarter valued at $548,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medifast in the second quarter valued at $114,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

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.