Nature's Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) Share Price Crosses Below 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Nature’s Sunshine shares fell below their 200-day moving average of $20.58, trading as low as $12.81 and last changing hands at $12.92.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, with EPS of $0.21 versus a $0.27 consensus and revenue of $116.99 million versus $123.70 million expected.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautiously positive: the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $30.50 average price target, despite several recent target-price cuts and one downgrade to “Hold.”

Shares of Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATR - Get Free Report) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $20.58 and traded as low as $12.81. Nature's Sunshine Products shares last traded at $12.92, with a volume of 77,335 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NATR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Nature's Sunshine Products from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Nature's Sunshine Products from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nature's Sunshine Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Nature's Sunshine Products from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Nature's Sunshine Products Stock Up 0.1%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.90 and a 200 day moving average of $20.58. The firm has a market cap of $227.39 million, a PE ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.84.

Nature's Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $116.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $123.70 million. Nature's Sunshine Products had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 12.88%.

Insider Activity at Nature's Sunshine Products

In other Nature's Sunshine Products news, major shareholder Prescott Group Capital Managem purchased 96,000 shares of Nature's Sunshine Products stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.63 per share, for a total transaction of $1,596,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,883,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,324,434.30. The trade was a 5.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 161,389 shares of company stock worth $2,612,536. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Nature's Sunshine Products by 134.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 27,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 15,518 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nature's Sunshine Products during the second quarter worth about $436,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Nature's Sunshine Products in the second quarter worth about $390,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nature's Sunshine Products in the second quarter worth about $7,412,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Nature's Sunshine Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $263,000. 79.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nature's Sunshine Products Company Profile

Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc is a natural health and wellness company that develops, manufactures and distributes dietary supplements and related products. Its offerings include herbal supplements, vitamins, minerals, specialty nutritional formulas, essential oils and personal-care products, sold primarily under the Nature's Sunshine and Synergy WorldWide brands.

Founded in 1972, the company has built its business around direct selling, supported by independent distributors and online sales channels.

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