Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 7,482 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 450% compared to the typical volume of 1,360 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

Natera Stock Up 4.2 %

Natera stock traded up $6.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $148.56. 1,064,090 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,761,435. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.41 and a beta of 1.80. Natera has a 52-week low of $83.13 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $164.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.21.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. On average, research analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total transaction of $106,772.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 114,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,217,063.20. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 143,768 shares in the company, valued at $20,600,516.72. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 294,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,212,702 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Natera by 134.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871,862 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Natera by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,040,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $146,419,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.