Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATR) Short Interest Down 24.0% in November

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATR) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 87,200 shares, a drop of 24.0% from the November 15th total of 114,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 39,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NATR shares. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Nature’s Sunshine Products in a report on Friday, September 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Nature’s Sunshine Products in a research report on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Nature’s Sunshine Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

Nature’s Sunshine Products Stock Performance

Shares of NATR opened at $15.61 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.55. Nature’s Sunshine Products has a fifty-two week low of $10.81 and a fifty-two week high of $21.72. The stock has a market cap of $288.47 million, a PE ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 0.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Fosun Pharmaceutical Shanghai sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.39, for a total transaction of $40,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $928,556.33. This represents a 4.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,499 shares of company stock valued at $99,802. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nature’s Sunshine Products

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products by 12.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 5,425 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in Nature’s Sunshine Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $197,000. Skylands Capital LLC increased its stake in Nature’s Sunshine Products by 722.1% during the 2nd quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 333,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,020,000 after purchasing an additional 292,581 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Nature’s Sunshine Products by 8.3% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 70,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,060,000 after buying an additional 5,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nature’s Sunshine Products by 25.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 260,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,925,000 after buying an additional 53,221 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.40% of the company’s stock.

Nature’s Sunshine Products Company Profile

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc, a natural health and wellness company, manufactures and sells nutritional and personal care products in Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and internationally. It offers general health products related to blood sugar support, bone health, cellular health, cognitive function, joint health, mood, sexual health, sleep, sports and energy, and vision.