Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $256.60.

NTRA has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $196.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -120.27 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $200.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.30. Natera has a 1-year low of $131.81 and a 1-year high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The business had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.05% and a negative return on equity of 14.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.41) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total value of $101,456.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,102,333.04. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 John Fesko sold 291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $59,992.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 187,220 shares in the company, valued at $38,597,275.20. The trade was a 0.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 38,266 shares of company stock worth $7,747,808 over the last ninety days. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 132.9% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 103.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

About Natera

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.