Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.81 EPS

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.61% and a negative return on equity of 25.07%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.41) earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Natera’s conference call:

• Natera reported a strong Q4 with about 924,000 tests processed, MRD clinical units of 225,000 (+56% YoY), revenue of $666M (+~40% YoY), a record gross margin of 66.9%, and >$107M of operating cash flow in 2025 while guiding 2026 revenue to $2.62–2.70B with 63–65% gross margins.
• MRD adoption and product expansion accelerated—management said >50% of U.S. oncologists ordered Signatera in Q4, launched Signatera Genome, submitted the tissue?free Latitude MRD to MolDX, and integrated phased?variant technology (analytic LODs below 1 in 10 million) for improved sensitivity and pharma partnerships.
• In women’s health, Natera launched the 21?gene Fetal Focus single?gene NIPT (96% sensitivity, 98% specificity) with prospective EXPAND validation and an oral plenary at SMFM, which management says is driving new OBGYN/MFM account growth.
• Organ?health momentum continues—Prospera enrollment completed in the randomized ACES?EMB heart transplant trial (readout mid?2027) and a lung transplant study showed clinicians omitted a 9?month surveillance biopsy in ~75% of low?risk patients without worse short?term outcomes, supporting biopsy?reduction use cases.
• Management noted some Q4 upside was driven by one?time items—~$60M of revenue true?ups, a deferred?tax benefit related to the Foresight deal, and higher pharma mix—and warned some margin drivers may not repeat while several new products still lack broad reimbursement, representing execution and reimbursement risk.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock traded down $8.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $208.04. 2,761,787 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,165,991. The firm has a market cap of $28.78 billion, a PE ratio of -90.85 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $203.19. Natera has a 12 month low of $125.38 and a 12 month high of $256.36.

Key Natera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat — Natera reported Q4 revenue of $665.5M and GAAP EPS of $0.35, well ahead of street estimates (revenue ~$600.7M, EPS loss consensus). The beat supports near-term growth expectations and underpins the stock’s recent strength. Natera Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable clinical data — New Signatera MRD data presented at ASCO GU highlight potential utility across genitourinary cancers (including bladder preservation), which may expand clinical adoption and long-term revenue for Natera’s oncology franchise. Signatera MRD Data at ASCO GU
• Positive Sentiment: Trial results — Natera reported results from the SINERGY trial, another clinical datapoint that could support commercial adoption of its assays. Natera Announces Results From the SINERGY Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/targets — Robert W. Baird raised its price target to $257 (outperform) and Wells Fargo raised its target to $215 (equal weight), signaling some sell-side confidence in upside from current levels. Benzinga – Analyst Price Target Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Full-year revenue guidance roughly in line with consensus — Management issued FY2026 revenue guidance (roughly $2.6B–$2.7B), which appears consistent with street expectations and reduces upside surprise potential from guidance alone. (See Q4 release for guidance details.) Natera Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus — Aggregated analyst coverage remains constructive (average “Moderate Buy”), which supports medium-term expectations but doesn’t preclude short-term volatility. Analyst Average Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and fundamentals concerns — Despite the beat, Natera still shows negative net margin and negative return on equity on a GAAP basis; combined with a high market capitalization and a recent run-up toward 52-week highs, investors may be taking profits. MarketBeat Q4 Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy intraday volume and selling pressure — Trading volume was well above average, consistent with a distribution day where some holders trimmed positions after the company’s strong quarter; that drove the stock lower despite the positives. (See intraday volume and price action for context.)

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.77, for a total transaction of $378,232.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 137,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,810,952.19. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 3,594 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.02, for a total transaction of $830,285.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 178,081 shares in the company, valued at $41,140,272.62. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 368,119 shares of company stock valued at $85,956,782. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Coatue Management LLC boosted its position in Natera by 1,446.1% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $603,270,000 after buying an additional 2,463,008 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 94.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Natera by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $386,338,000 after acquiring an additional 673,315 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 2,768,561.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 498,359 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $114,170,000 after purchasing an additional 498,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Natera by 215.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,942 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $84,983,000 after purchasing an additional 360,733 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Company Profile

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.