Stephens Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Medifast (NYSE:MED) Stock Price

Medifast (NYSE:MED) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Stephens from $15.00 to $12.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Stephens’ target price points to a potential upside of 12.86% from the stock’s previous close.

MED has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Medifast from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Medifast in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Medifast Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MED stock opened at $10.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $116.86 million, a P/E ratio of -6.22 and a beta of 0.53. Medifast has a 1 year low of $10.10 and a 1 year high of $15.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.27.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $75.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.40 million. Medifast had a negative return on equity of 4.27% and a negative net margin of 4.84%.Medifast has set its FY 2026 guidance at -2.750–1.55 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at -0.700–0.15 EPS. Analysts forecast that Medifast will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Medifast by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 411,101 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,769,000 after acquiring an additional 25,378 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Medifast during the second quarter valued at about $307,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Medifast by 564.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,457 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 6,335 shares during the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 26.0% in the second quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 87,194 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after buying an additional 17,994 shares during the period. Finally, Divisadero Street Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Medifast in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,122,000. 95.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Medifast Company Profile

Medifast, Inc (NYSE: MED) is a health and wellness company specializing in clinically supported weight-loss, weight-management and healthy living products and services. Through its OPTAVIA brand, the company offers a range of meal replacement products, snacks, supplements and coaching programs designed to support metabolic health and sustainable lifestyle changes. Medifast markets its products directly to consumers via a network of independent distributors—known as OPTAVIA Coaches—who provide personalized guidance and support throughout the client’s weight‐loss journey.

Founded in 1980 by William Vitale and headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, Medifast has grown into a nationally recognized provider of nutrition and weight‐management solutions.