Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Down 2.8% – Here’s Why

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)’s share price fell 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $159.67 and last traded at $163.86. 214,963 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 1,147,069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim increased their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Craig Hallum raised their price target on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.63.

Natera Stock Down 3.3 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $163.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.77. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.53 and a beta of 1.65.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.95) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total transaction of $206,378.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 194,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,501,707.40. This represents a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total value of $30,737.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,434,752.37. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 123,409 shares of company stock valued at $20,045,631 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 1.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 187,438 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,298,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Natera by 35.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 264,801 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,680,000 after acquiring an additional 69,523 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 8.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 216,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $23,445,000 after purchasing an additional 16,317 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Natera in the second quarter valued at $2,359,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 20.1% during the second quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 9,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.