How to Play the Herbalife Roller Coaster

By Austin Smith – Jan 18, 2013 at 8:17PM

NYSE: HLF

Herbalife

Market Cap

$922M

Today's Change

(1.65%) $0.15

Current Price

$9.24

Price as of April 23, 2024, 4:00 p.m. ET

This volatility isn't your friend.

Fool analyst Austin Smith addresses the latest Herbalife controversy and offers his advice on how to play this investment.

Herbalife came under scrutiny after Bill Ackerman of Pershing Square publicly accused the company of running a pyramid scheme. Carl Icahn and other investors claim Herbalife is a legitimate multilevel marketing business.

As an investment, Austin recommends avoiding Herbalife and other multilevel marketing companies altogether. He cites one statistic that 99% of salespeople in such companies lose money. In the long run, this is not sustainable as these people will eventually leave and word will get out that you can't make money with this firm. As for Herbalife, Austin believes that regardless of whether Ackerman wins, someone is going to lose big on this company.

Rather than invest in this volatile stock and risk losing your shirt, Austin suggests you grab some popcorn, pull up a comfortable chair and enjoy the show.

Austin Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Tupperware Brands and has the following options: Long Jan 2014 $50 Calls on Herbalife. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.