Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.40.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Natera from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $117.00 price target for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, Director Herm Rosenman sold 93,901 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.37, for a total transaction of $6,513,912.37. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 61,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,279,088.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Herm Rosenman sold 93,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.37, for a total transaction of $6,513,912.37. Following the transaction, the director now owns 61,685 shares in the company, valued at $4,279,088.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total transaction of $210,566.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,048,618.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 455,349 shares of company stock valued at $36,747,623 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Natera in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 109.3% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 745 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $91.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.18 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $88.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.50. Natera has a fifty-two week low of $36.90 and a fifty-two week high of $98.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 3.96 and a current ratio of 4.10.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.73) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $311.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.38 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 40.16% and a negative return on equity of 62.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natera will post -2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.