Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $330.8333.

NTRA has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $348.00 target price on Natera in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Natera from $290.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th.

Natera Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NTRA opened at $369.39 on Tuesday. Natera has a 12-month low of $157.43 and a 12-month high of $369.69. The company has a market cap of $53.24 billion, a PE ratio of -271.61 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $305.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $246.69.

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 company had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.74) earnings per share. Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Natera will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Brophy sold 2,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.96, for a total value of $614,329.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,788,758.20. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.89, for a total transaction of $4,955,652.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 110,859 shares in the company, valued at $36,238,698.51. The trade was a 12.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 68,242 shares of company stock worth $19,301,534. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

About Natera

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services based on cell-free DNA and other genomic technologies. The company focuses on reproductive health, oncology and organ health, providing tests intended to support screening, diagnosis, treatment planning and disease monitoring.

Its reproductive health portfolio includes Panorama, a noninvasive prenatal test that screens for certain chromosomal conditions, and Horizon, a carrier screening test.