Herbalife is sliding after naming a new CEO (HLF)

HERBALIFE (Independent Distributor)/Flickr

Herbalife, the nutritional supplement firm, said it is naming a new CEO.

The firm said that current CEO Michael Johnson will shift to Executive Chairman as of June 1, 2017 and be replaced by COO Richard Goudis.

The firm also reported earnings, beating on profits but missing sales expectations. For the third quarter, earnings per share came in at $1.21 per share against analyst estimates of $1.09 per share. Sales were light, however, at $1.12 billion against projections of $1.14 billion.

In a statement following the announcement, Carl Icahn, who holds a large stake in the firm, said he supports the move by Herbalife.

"Almost four years ago, we became shareholders of Herbalife and now have five of our nominees on the Board," wrote Icahn on his website.

"We would like to applaud Michael Johnson for doing a superb job navigating the company through a number of libelous attacks during this period. I am glad he intends to stay meaningfully involved in the company and I fully support the Board’s choice of Rich Goudis becoming CEO while Michael remains actively engaged as Executive Chairman."

The firm has been a battleground for hedge fund giants Bill Ackman and Carl Icahn, who have taken opposite sides of the trade. Ackman has called the company a pyramid scheme and has been famously short, while Icahn has taken a long position.

Following the CEO news, the stock is sliding by a bit more than 3.5% to $57.00 a share.

HERBALIFE (Independent Distributor)/Flickr 

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