Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Stephens

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Stephens in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $125.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential upside of 10.86% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on NTRA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Natera from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.27.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA traded up $5.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $112.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,725,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,389,169. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a current ratio of 4.12. The stock has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of -35.93 and a beta of 1.48. Natera has a 12-month low of $36.90 and a 12-month high of $117.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $107.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.64.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.39. The company had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.00 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 49.72%. Natera’s revenue was up 58.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.97) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Natera will post -2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,779 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total value of $725,895.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 219,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,499,348.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.65, for a total transaction of $185,946.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 71,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,170,315.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,779 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total transaction of $725,895.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 219,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,499,348.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,387 shares of company stock valued at $9,547,136 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 6,007.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,329 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 7,209 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 720,160 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $45,111,000 after purchasing an additional 159,993 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 1,043.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 90,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,664,000 after purchasing an additional 82,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Natera by 101.2% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 145,996 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,058,000 after buying an additional 73,419 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

About Natera

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.