Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on NTRA. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Natera from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Natera from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Natera from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. Finally, Craig Hallum started coverage on Natera in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a buy rating and a $117.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $86.40.

Natera Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $91.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.00. Natera has a fifty-two week low of $36.90 and a fifty-two week high of $98.82. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73) by $0.09. Natera had a negative return on equity of 62.19% and a negative net margin of 40.16%. The business had revenue of $311.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.38 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera will post -2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 14,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $964,178.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,957 shares in the company, valued at $16,074,431.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $7,265,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,560 shares in the company, valued at $10,676,799.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 14,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $964,178.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,074,431.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 453,644 shares of company stock worth $36,594,940 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth $1,932,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 224.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth $364,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Natera by 1.8% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,506 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 9.2% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,738 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.