Natera, Inc. (NTRA) – What Are Analysts Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $368.69.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Natera from $340.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $290.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $348.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $385.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Natera from $350.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Brophy sold 478 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total transaction of $131,077.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,159,898.14. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Chapman sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $413.31, for a total value of $526,143.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,060,485.06. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,985 shares of company stock worth $16,119,137. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sweeney & Michel LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the third quarter valued at about $223,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Natera by 33.4% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 551 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Natera by 256.0% during the third quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth about $4,543,000. Finally, Formuepleje A S purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth about $482,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $11.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $393.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,581,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,860,753. The firm has a market cap of $56.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -289.29 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $358.21 and a 200-day moving average of $275.25. Natera has a 12 month low of $178.01 and a 12 month high of $437.41.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%. The business’s revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.74) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services designed to assess genetic and disease-related risks. The company uses technologies including cell-free DNA analysis and next-generation sequencing to support clinical decision-making in reproductive health, oncology and organ transplantation.

Its reproductive health offerings include Panorama, a noninvasive prenatal test that screens for certain chromosomal conditions, and Horizon, a carrier screening test that evaluates whether prospective parents carry genetic variants associated with inherited disorders.