Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $200.00. The stock had previously closed at $175.00, but opened at $182.39. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Natera shares last traded at $171.01, with a volume of 265,199 shares changing hands.

NTRA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total transaction of $106,772.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 114,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,217,063.20. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total transaction of $30,737.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,891 shares in the company, valued at $13,434,752.37. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 123,409 shares of company stock worth $20,045,631 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

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

Natera Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.18 and a beta of 1.65. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $161.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.86.

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

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.