Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Climb 4% – Still a Buy?

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)’s stock price shot up 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $400.89 and last traded at $406.5810. 148,911 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,361,573 shares. The stock had previously closed at $390.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Natera from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.07.

Natera Stock Up 0.9%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $317.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.46. The firm has a market cap of $59.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -303.35 and a beta of 1.54.

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 return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.The firm had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.74) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.89, for a total transaction of $4,955,652.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,238,698.51. This represents a 12.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 6,517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.53, for a total transaction of $2,095,411.01. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 197,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,424,043.21. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 sold a total of 51,712 shares of company stock valued at $15,169,034 in the last ninety days. 5.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,944,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,962,770,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,644 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $596,078,000 after acquiring an additional 11,689 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in Natera by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,167,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $496,637,000 after acquiring an additional 420,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $372,398,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.