Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $328.79 and last traded at $331.2270, with a volume of 65418 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $325.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, July 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $375.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Natera from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.38.

Natera Trading Up 2.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $47.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -244.14 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $274.24 and its 200-day moving average is $229.39.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.74) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total value of $905,627.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 129,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,264,866.02. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total value of $17,184,180.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,076,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $237,097,181.38. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968 in the last ninety days. 5.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 6.6% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 68.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Natera by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth about $298,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $558,000. Institutional investors 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.