Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $319.3750.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens raised their target price on Natera from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Natera from $220.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Natera from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Natera Stock Up 0.1%

NTRA stock opened at $338.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -249.04 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.96. Natera has a 52 week low of $157.43 and a 52 week high of $343.18.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.74) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Natera will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total value of $905,627.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 129,019 shares in the company, valued at $34,264,866.02. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total transaction of $131,077.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,159,898.14. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 177,955 shares of company stock worth $40,704,193 over the last three months. 5.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. 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.