Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price Up 4% – Here’s Why

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) shot up 4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $400.89 and last traded at $406.5810. 148,911 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,361,573 shares. The stock had previously closed at $390.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $348.00 target price on Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.83.

Natera Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $57.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -291.42 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $312.04 and a 200-day moving average of $250.86.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.74) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 6,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.53, for a total transaction of $2,095,411.01. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 197,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,424,043.21. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Michael Brophy sold 2,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.96, for a total transaction of $614,329.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,788,758.20. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 51,712 shares of company stock valued at $15,169,033 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 5.5% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its stake in Natera by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp increased its stake in Natera by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 982 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH now owns 2,229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Natera

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services based on cell-free DNA and other genomic technologies. The company focuses on reproductive health, oncology and organ health, providing tests intended to support screening, diagnosis, treatment planning and disease monitoring.

Its reproductive health portfolio includes Panorama, a noninvasive prenatal test that screens for certain chromosomal conditions, and Horizon, a carrier screening test.