Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

NTRA has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays started coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $151.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.88 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. Natera has a one year low of $83.13 and a one year high of $183.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.50.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total value of $978,693.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,695,784.62. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at $18,217,063.20. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 307,466 shares of company stock worth $49,047,655. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Natera by 345.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 372.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Natera by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.