Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Lifted to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on NTRA. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $70.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Natera from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Natera from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James downgraded Natera from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $86.40.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $96.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $90.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.29. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Natera has a twelve month low of $36.90 and a twelve month high of $98.82.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 9,326 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.36, for a total value of $824,045.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,957 shares in the company, valued at $21,821,120.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 9,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.36, for a total value of $824,045.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,957 shares in the company, valued at $21,821,120.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.97, for a total transaction of $175,348.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,346,921.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 420,779 shares of company stock worth $34,667,871 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its position in shares of Natera by 47.8% during the 1st quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 538 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its stake in Natera by 109.3% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 745 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.