Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $417.38 and last traded at $413.2120, with a volume of 237980 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $412.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research raised Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Natera from $290.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Natera from $220.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $348.00 price target on Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.07.

Natera Stock Down 0.9%

The company has a market cap of $58.96 billion, a PE ratio of -300.47 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $317.64 and its 200-day moving average is $253.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $752.75 million during 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 quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.74) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 110,859 shares in the company, valued at $36,238,698.51. The trade was a 12.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 Brophy sold 2,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.96, for a total transaction of $614,329.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,788,758.20. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 worth $15,169,033 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,290,000 after acquiring an additional 4,797 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden raised its holdings in Natera by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 96,737 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,259,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,257 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Finally, BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in Natera during the second quarter valued at $11,695,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

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.