StockNews.com Lowers Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on NTRA. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Natera from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Natera from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a buy rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $119.07.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $118.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.98 and a beta of 1.48. Natera has a 12 month low of $36.90 and a 12 month high of $119.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 4.12 and a quick ratio of 3.98.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.39. The business 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%. The business’s revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.97) EPS. Analysts expect that Natera will post -2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.82, for a total transaction of $307,314.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 299,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,082,374.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.82, for a total transaction of $307,314.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 299,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,082,374.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,647 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.96, for a total value of $181,104.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 114,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,555,892.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 84,308 shares of company stock worth $9,128,555 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Natera by 113.1% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 561,939 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,852,000 after purchasing an additional 298,193 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 116,337 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,598,000 after purchasing an additional 10,893 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Natera by 53.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $103,783,000 after purchasing an additional 334,630 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tri Locum Partners LP increased its position in shares of Natera by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tri Locum Partners LP now owns 230,585 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $24,970,000 after purchasing an additional 40,471 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.