Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $152.67.

NTRA has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total transaction of $14,793,433.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,224,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,135,977.44. This trade represents a 6.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total value of $206,378.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,615 shares in the company, valued at $23,501,707.40. This trade represents a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,932 shares of company stock worth $20,635,430 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 8.0% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 25,076 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in Natera by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 8,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in Natera by 2.2% during the second quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 93,853 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,161,000 after buying an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth $217,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 6.4% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 24,584 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $160.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera has a 52 week low of $58.53 and a 52 week high of $175.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $154.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -91.25 and a beta of 1.63.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.