Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Trading Up 3.5%

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)’s stock price was up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $111.65 and last traded at $111.63. Approximately 196,436 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,328,230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. StockNews.com upgraded Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Natera in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Natera from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price objective on Natera from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.19.

Natera Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.65 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 3.98, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.34.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.16. Natera had a negative return on equity of 49.72% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The business had revenue of $367.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.23) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.13, for a total transaction of $634,774.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,710 shares in the company, valued at $21,206,632.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,676,799.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.13, for a total value of $634,774.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 227,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,206,632.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 183,287 shares of company stock worth $17,604,403 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Natera in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its holdings in Natera by 109.3% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 745 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its holdings in Natera by 47.8% in the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 538 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Natera

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.