Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $264.65 and last traded at $259.97, with a volume of 2940685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $234.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.22.

Natera Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $37.51 billion, a PE ratio of -160.68 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $212.73 and its 200-day moving average is $215.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total transaction of $17,184,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,076,198 shares in the company, valued at $237,097,181.38. The trade was a 6.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total value of $2,389,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,343,009.43. The trade was a 64.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,872 shares of company stock valued at $39,415,896. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,140,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420,263 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $545,624,000 after buying an additional 72,087 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $428,987,000 after acquiring an additional 727,366 shares during the period. Finally, Coatue Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 1,446.1% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $603,270,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,008 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.