Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Sets New 1-Year High at $133.00

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $133.00 and last traded at $133.00, with a volume of 417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NTRA. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group cut their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.07.

Natera Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a PE ratio of -41.56 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $113.13 and its 200-day moving average is $104.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.14.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.39. The company had revenue of $413.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.00 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 36.74%. Natera’s revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.97) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.65, for a total transaction of $185,946.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,955 shares in the company, valued at $7,170,315.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.65, for a total value of $185,946.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,955 shares in the company, valued at $7,170,315.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total transaction of $4,053,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 213,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,063,243.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,197 shares of company stock valued at $9,561,358. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Natera by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,010,152,000 after purchasing an additional 72,848 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Natera by 6.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $259,634,000 after purchasing an additional 148,917 shares in the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $213,860,000 after buying an additional 45,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth $83,970,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.