Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Short Interest Update

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,395,341 shares, a decrease of 15.5% from the November 30th total of 4,019,572 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,212,569 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,212,569 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 4,692 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.76, for a total value of $1,082,725.92. Following the transaction, the insider owned 113,065 shares in the company, valued at $26,090,879.40. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 4,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.10, for a total transaction of $1,061,374.60. Following the sale, the director owned 5,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,404,388.70. This trade represents a 43.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 336,481 shares of company stock valued at $72,008,879. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 83.5% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Natera in the second quarter worth $33,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 1,857.1% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 274 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA opened at $229.98 on Wednesday. Natera has a one year low of $125.38 and a one year high of $246.90. The stock has a market cap of $31.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -100.43 and a beta of 1.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $219.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.50.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.55 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.26) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Natera from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.18.

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.