Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price Up 3.5%

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) shot up 3.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $111.65 and last traded at $111.63. 196,436 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,328,230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $117.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Natera from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.19.

Natera Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.78 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 4.12 and a quick ratio of 3.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $105.70 and its 200-day moving average is $86.87.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $367.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.31 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 49.72% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The business’s revenue was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.23) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.13, for a total value of $634,774.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,206,632.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.13, for a total transaction of $634,774.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,206,632.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 1,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.55, for a total value of $89,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 69,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,186,293.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 201,770 shares of company stock worth $20,023,161 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Natera by 0.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 533,889 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $23,625,000 after acquiring an additional 4,291 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in Natera in the third quarter valued at about $666,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 45,469 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,012,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 0.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,556,792 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $334,388,000 after buying an additional 67,102 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 33.4% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 374,004 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,550,000 after buying an additional 93,556 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.