Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $328.79 and last traded at $331.2270, with a volume of 65418 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $325.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Natera in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.38.

Natera Trading Up 0.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $47.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -240.80 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $269.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $228.01.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.74) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total transaction of $905,627.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 129,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,264,866.02. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $4,132,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,250 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,500. This trade represents a 79.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth about $32,000. 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.