This Is Why GNC Holdings, Inc. (GNC) Kept Me Up At Night?

GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GNC) stock is presently standing at about $8.96 and lots of equity research firms seem to have a target price set on the stock. The median one-year price target of 10 analysts covering the company is $8.50, which suggests the stock could still rise over -5 percent. The highest analyst price target is $20.00, which implies a rally of -23 percent. And a quick view of analyst notes show that 2 are rating the stock a buy while 0 rate GNC a strong buy. There are 5 equity research firms advocating a Hold and 0 consider it Sell.

Goldman analysts provided their view on GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GNC) recently. The rating firm issued a Sell rating to this company in a research note released on Jan 19, 2017. Barclays analysts disclosed their opinion on GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GNC) recently. The rating firm gave a Underweight rating to this stock in a research note published on Dec 13, 2016. According to a research note disclosed on Oct 28, 2016, analysts at Piper Jaffray have lowered their rating on these shares from Neutral to Underweight.

GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GNC) Transactions Roundup

Several insiders were part of recent insider activity for the stock. Its Director LANE AMY B Purchased 31,882 company shares for 22,830, in a transaction on Jun 08. Following the transaction, the Director is left with a stake of 3,000 shares, currently valued at $26,880. Meanwhile, EVP, Chief Merchandising Ofc Mantel Tim purchased 56,775 shares worth $108,209, through a transaction dated May 24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider is left with a stake of 15,000 shares, amounting $134,400. GNC Director FELDMAN ALAN D also purchased 47,337 shares, at a stock price of $6.87. This transaction occurred on May 16 totals $249,970. After this transaction, the insider’s stake stands at 36,400 shares, with a market value of $326,144.

Executives hold 2.61 percent of the stock. FMR LLC is one of the biggest insider owners in GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GNC), according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. The insider owns 9,033,857 shares which have current market value of around $80,943,359.VANGUARD GROUP INC is another major inside shareholder in the company. The insider owns 5,496,456 shares as of 03/31/2017, currently worth $49,248,246. BLACKROCK INC. is ranked as third insider holder of the stock. This insider holds 4,276,310 shares with a market value around $38,315,738 as of recent close.

GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GNC) Earnings Outlook

In GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GNC)’s latest quarter, EPS moved to $0.37 from $0.07 in preceding quarter and revenues reached at $644.84M compared to $569.93M. Analysts had expected GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GNC) to post net income of about $0.34 per share on $627.41M in revenue. Looking ahead, analysts on average predict that earnings for the current quarter would come in the range of $0.24 to $0.45. That is compared with the $0.79 in EPS it reported during the same period a year ago.

Francis Lewis: