Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

NTRA has been the subject of several other reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock opened at $149.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.71 and a 200-day moving average of $149.27. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera has a 12 month low of $83.13 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.02 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The business had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 792 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.04, for a total transaction of $115,663.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,748.76. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. This trade represents a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 307,466 shares of company stock valued at $49,047,655. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $397,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,493 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 8,635 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter worth about $19,210,000. HWG Holdings LP boosted its stake in Natera by 173.0% in the 4th quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 40,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,449,000 after purchasing an additional 25,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 96,105 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.