StockNews.com Upgrades Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on NTRA. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.12.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $151.15 on Wednesday. Natera has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.88 and a beta of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.50.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total value of $859,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 143,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,600,516.72. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total value of $978,693.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,695,784.62. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 307,466 shares of company stock valued at $49,047,655 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 86,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,936,000 after buying an additional 18,316 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Natera during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $385,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $573,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $505,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Natera by 50.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 657 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 220 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.