Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $200.00. The stock had previously closed at $175.00, but opened at $182.39. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Natera shares last traded at $171.01, with a volume of 265,199 shares traded.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.00.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total value of $14,793,433.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares in the company, valued at $207,135,977.44. This represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This represents a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 127,932 shares of company stock worth $20,635,430. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Natera by 148.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Natera by 345.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Natera by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 2.9 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $160.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.52 and a beta of 1.65.

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