Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on NTRA. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Natera from $70.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a buy rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $86.40.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $91.66 on Tuesday. Natera has a 1 year low of $36.90 and a 1 year high of $98.82. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.16.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 40.16% and a negative return on equity of 62.19%. The business had revenue of $311.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.38 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera will post -2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.55, for a total transaction of $89,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,186,293.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.55, for a total transaction of $63,132.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,601.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.55, for a total transaction of $89,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,186,293.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 455,349 shares of company stock valued at $36,747,623. 9.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in Natera by 109.3% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 745 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.