Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

NTRA has been the topic of several other reports. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $348.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.38.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $310.78 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -228.51 and a beta of 1.51. Natera has a 12 month low of $152.62 and a 12 month high of $326.03.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.82% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.74) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.39, for a total value of $819,415.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,897 shares in the company, valued at $26,611,561.83. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,159,898.14. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Insiders sold a total of 181,045 shares of company stock worth $41,330,968 over the last ninety days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Natera by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 438,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $100,538,000 after acquiring an additional 71,355 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Natera by 3,373.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,253 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,251,000 after acquiring an additional 10,929 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its position in shares of Natera by 44.6% in the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 9,346 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 2,883 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Natera by 286.8% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 65,717 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,055,000 after purchasing an additional 48,728 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,897,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Natera

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.