Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Trading Down 4.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) were down 4.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $156.16 and last traded at $154.85. Approximately 183,263 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,386,618 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.82.

Natera Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $20.41 billion, a PE ratio of -85.79 and a beta of 1.79. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.64.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.56) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,160,963.60. This represents a 30.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total transaction of $859,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 143,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,600,516.72. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Natera in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 117.8% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. 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.