Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.56.

Natera Stock Up 5.6 %

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $140.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -79.56 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. Natera has a fifty-two week low of $83.13 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.16.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Analysts predict that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total transaction of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at $18,217,063.20. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 294,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,212,702 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.1% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,353 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth $230,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 37.9% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,243,000 after buying an additional 11,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth $270,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.