Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.44.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $117.67 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $123.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.44. The company has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.71 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Natera has a 12-month low of $36.90 and a 12-month high of $133.54.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.39. Natera had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 36.74%. The company had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.97) EPS. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Natera will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.82, for a total value of $307,314.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 299,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,082,374.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.82, for a total transaction of $307,314.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 299,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,082,374.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.65, for a total value of $185,946.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,170,315.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,770 shares of company stock worth $5,351,448 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,010,152,000 after purchasing an additional 72,848 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $483,034,000 after buying an additional 532,874 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 6.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $259,634,000 after purchasing an additional 148,917 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 2.4% during the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $213,860,000 after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 25.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,229,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $156,092,000 after buying an additional 246,246 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.