Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

NTRA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Stephens lifted their target price on Natera from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.50.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $324.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $294.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.44. Natera has a 52 week low of $157.43 and a 52 week high of $343.18. The company has a market cap of $46.72 billion, a PE ratio of -238.34 and a beta of 1.54.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.74) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Natera will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Chapman sold 1,698 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.99, for a total transaction of $545,041.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,520,897.01. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Michael Brophy sold 478 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,637 shares in the company, valued at $14,159,898.14. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 have sold a total of 71,206 shares of company stock valued at $19,944,069 in the last three months. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Natera by 28,373.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 56,324,789 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,289,364,000 after buying an additional 56,126,974 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Natera by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,962,770,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Natera by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,140,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Natera by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $545,624,000 after acquiring an additional 72,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc is a diagnostic company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services based on cell-free DNA and other genetic technologies. The company’s tests are designed to help clinicians assess genetic and reproductive health, monitor organ transplants, and detect and track cancer.

Its principal products include Panorama, a noninvasive prenatal screening test; Horizon, a carrier screening test; Signatera, a personalized circulating tumor DNA test used in cancer monitoring; and Prospera, a molecular test intended to help assess the risk of organ transplant rejection.