Why Natus Medical Shareholders Need Their Bottle

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Natus Medical , a neurodiagnostic and medical device company specializing in newborn and infant care, sank as much as 15% after the company announced disappointing preliminary revenue figures for the second quarter.

So what: Shareholders were certainly reaching for their safety blanket after waking up this morning to updated revenue guidance from Natus calling for $81 million to $82 million in sales compared to its own previous guidance of $86 million to $90 million - and well below the Street's forecast of $88.8 million. Natus noted that U.S. sales remain on track to hit their targets, but a rapid drop-off in international sales, specifically in Europe, led to the shortfall.

Now what: Understandably, being just a preliminary revenue statement, CEO Jim Hawkins didn't have much to say about why the miss occurred. That lack of transparency to the miss is only going to eat at shareholders over the next few weeks until Natus officially reports its second-quarter results on Aug. 1. Natus is an intriguing company in that it operates in a well-defined specialty niche of newborn care that should give it inherent advantages over many of its industry peers. However, until we know the scope of why sales fell and if it's going to continue into the future, it might be best to stick to the sidelines.

Craving more input? Start by adding Natus Medical to your free and personalized watchlist so you can keep up on the latest news with the company.

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The article Why Natus Medical Shareholders Need Their Bottle originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool recommends Natus Medical. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. 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.

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