Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Now Covered by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $251.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NTRA. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Craig Hallum upped their target price 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. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $148.22 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.62. The company has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.22 and a beta of 1.80. Natera has a 1 year low of $83.13 and a 1 year high of $183.00. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total transaction of $590,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at $1,433,183.76. This trade represents a 29.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 298,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,803,462 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Natera by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,949,697,000 after purchasing an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Natera by 134.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,067,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Natera by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Natera by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,194,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 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.