Herbalife Ltd. (HLF): Today's Featured Health Care Laggard

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

Herbalife (HLF) pushed the Health Care sector lower today making it today's featured Health Care laggard. The sector as a whole closed the day down 0.4%. By the end of trading, Herbalife fell 60 cents (-1.6%) to $37.31 on light volume. Throughout the day, 2.8 million shares of Herbalife exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 10.8 million shares. The stock ranged in price between $36.16-$38.24 after having opened the day at $38.21 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $37.91. Other companies within the Health Care sector that declined today were: Affymax (AFFY), down 64%, Star Scientific (STSI), down 17.2%, Rockwell Medical (RMTI), down 15.9%, and Savient Pharmaceuticals (SVNT), down 14.8%.

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Herbalife Ltd., a network marketing company, sells weight management, healthy meals and snacks, sports and fitness, energy and targeted nutritional products, and personal care products worldwide. Herbalife has a market cap of $3.97 billion and is part of the drugs industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 9.5, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 15.1% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday. Currently there are seven analysts that rate Herbalife a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and two rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Herbalife as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, notable return on equity, impressive record of earnings per share growth, good cash flow from operations and increase in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated.

• You can view the full Herbalife Ratings Report.

On the positive front, Atossa Genetics (ATOS), up 34.3%, Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB), up 15.4%, KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals (KYTH), up 13.7%, and NPS Pharmaceuticals (NPSP), up 9.3%, were all gainers within the health care sector with Shire (SHPG) being today's featured health care sector leader.

• Use our health care section to find sector-relevant news.
• Or find some new ideas from our top rated stocks lists.

For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the health care sector could consider Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) while those bearish on the health care sector could consider ProShares Ultra Short Health Care (RXD).

• Find other investment ideas from our top rated ETFs lists.

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For more information on Herbalife Ltd. click any of the following:

• Herbalife Ltd. Stock Price

• Herbalife Ltd. Analyst Ratings

• Herbalife Ltd. Key Stats & Profile

• Herbalife Ltd. Earnings

• Herbalife Ltd. Ratio Comparison

• Herbalife Ltd. Growth Rates

• Herbalife Ltd. Balance Sheet

• Herbalife Ltd. Cash Flow

• Herbalife Ltd. Income Statement