n">(Reuters) - Shares of Herbalife (HLF.N) plunged again Friday, feeling the brunt of heavy selling in a week where prominent short-seller Bill Ackman called the company a "pyramid scheme."

The stock closed 19 percent down at $27.27, its lowest in nearly two years.

The selling continues a bad run for the stock, which has been hit hard in recent days as Ackman said he was shorting the stock, giving a three-hour presentation Thursday where he called the weight management company's model unsustainable.

Pershing Square Capital Management said on Friday it had launched a website that provides information about the company, including source data that was used in the presentation.

Shares have fallen 36 percent in the last three days and have lost nearly two-thirds of their value since hitting a life-high in April.

Ackman, known for agitating for management change at companies his fund invests in, has targeted Herbalife via one of his biggest short positions in years.

Ackman said he had been building his short position in the company's stock for several months and that he was so sure of his position that he believed the company's stock price would eventually go to zero.

More than 42.2 million Herbalife shares had changed hands on Friday, far surpassing the 2.8 million shares traded on average over the past 50 days.

Similar stocks in the space were also down. Nu Skin Enterprises Inc (NUS.N), a skin products company, closed 14 percent lower at $34.51. Blyth Inc (BTH.N), which sells nutritional supplements through its ViSalus unit, closed down 8 percent at $14.75.

Herbalife said on Friday it would hold an analyst day in the week of January 7 to respond to Ackman's claims.

Option volume on Herbalife hit an all-time high on Friday, a day that also marks the expiration of December equity options. Herbalife traders exchanged 136,000 puts and 85,000 calls, or 11 times the combined daily average, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.

Out of that volume, 41 percent were December contracts that expire after market close. The most popular contracts are the December $27.50 strike put followed by the May $22.50 strike put.

(Reporting By David Gaffen, Doris Frankel and Maria Ajit Thomas; Editing by M.D. Golan and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

View the original article here

Sony's sci-fi action epic Total Recall is in a close race with holdover The Dark Knight Rises at the Friday box office, with each pic on track to gross in the $9 million to $10.5 million range.

PHOTOS: 'Total Recall' Premiere

It's possible that Total Recall -- headlining Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel -- could win the Friday race and even cross $11 million, but most observers believe Dark Knight Rises will pull ahead on Saturday and stay atop the domestic box office for a third weekend in a row.

Total Recall, based both on the 1990 Paul Verhoeven film and the short story by Philip K. Dick, is expected to earn in the high-$20 million range for the weekend, while Dark Knight Rises is slotted to gross $31 million to $34 million. Some believe Total Recall also could cross $30 million, though.

The weekend's other new entry is Fox's family pic Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. The threequel is expected to gross $6.5 million to $7.5 million on Friday for a weekend debut north of $17.5 million.

VIDEO: 'Total Recall' Star Jessica Biel Says 'There Was Nothing Girly' About Fight Scene with Kate Beckinsale

Research tracking firm NRG continues to advise studios that 20 percent of the moviegoing audience remains skittish about going to see a movie in the wake of the Aurora theater shooting during a midnight screening of Dark Knight Rises on July 20. And the London Olympics are proving a huge draw.

Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Rises, from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, has earned north of $600 million worldwide in its first two weeks, a massive number even though the film continues to pace behind its 2008 predecessor The Dark Knight.

Overseas, Universal's Ted is making headlines as it opens in another 10 markets, including Germany, where it grossed $1.2 million on Thursday to top the box office. And in the U.K., the R-rated comedy from writer-director Seth MacFarlane earned a stellar $5.3 million in its first two days of previews.

Ted has been rolling out slowly overseas, earning an impressive $54.5 million to date.

View the original article here