Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Down 2.8% – Should You Sell?

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)’s stock price was down 2.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $159.67 and last traded at $163.86. Approximately 214,963 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,147,069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.63.

Natera Stock Down 3.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The stock has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -92.53 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $163.51 and its 200 day moving average is $133.77.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.95) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total transaction of $73,422.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,937,930.64. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total transaction of $30,737.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,891 shares in the company, valued at $13,434,752.37. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 123,409 shares of company stock valued at $20,045,631 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 148.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Natera by 345.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Natera by 34.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 32.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

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.