Wolfe Research Upgrades Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) to Strong-Buy

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wolfe Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on NTRA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. William Blair assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.81.

Natera Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $213.05 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.84. Natera has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $256.36. The company has a market cap of $30.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -130.71 and a beta of 1.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.84, for a total value of $335,091.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 140,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,528,026.12. This represents a 1.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $185,956.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,896,580.72. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 34,406 shares of company stock worth $6,984,955 over the last three months. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth about $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 132.9% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its position in shares of Natera by 103.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

About Natera

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.