Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Cross Above 50 Day Moving Average Following Insider Selling

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)’s stock price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $379.22 and traded as high as $398.03. Natera shares last traded at $388.63, with a volume of 3,880,845 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Natera from $360.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Natera from $350.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $348.00 target price on Natera in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $475.00 target price for the company. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.31.

Natera Stock Up 2.6%

The stock has a market cap of $56.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -285.76 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $379.22 and its 200-day moving average is $267.89.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.74) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 30.3% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 9.9% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 55,946 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $23,123,000 after acquiring an additional 5,022 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.0% during the third quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

About Natera

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services designed to provide personalized genetic and genomic information. Its tests are used across reproductive health, oncology and organ transplantation, with the company combining next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics to analyze DNA and monitor disease-related signals.

In reproductive health, Natera offers Panorama noninvasive prenatal screening, Horizon carrier screening and Vistara single-gene disorder screening.