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

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.06.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $160.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -91.46 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.84. Natera has a twelve month low of $49.97 and a twelve month high of $167.79. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.88%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.95) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Natera will post -1.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 111,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,434,752.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.45, for a total value of $235,955.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,208.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,434,752.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,881 shares of company stock valued at $3,733,983 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Natera by 15.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,810,000 after buying an additional 9,781 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Natera in the first quarter worth $223,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Natera in the first quarter worth $788,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Natera in the first quarter worth $8,199,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,010,152,000 after buying an additional 72,848 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.