Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Short Interest Down 22.5% in April

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,771,349 shares, a decrease of 22.5% from the March 31st total of 4,867,085 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,387,803 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 2,182 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.10, for a total transaction of $445,346.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 145,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,737,370. This represents a 1.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total transaction of $594,781.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,293,298.34. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 a total of 138,069 shares of company stock valued at $30,896,634 in the last three months. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,981,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Natera by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,871,914,000 after buying an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,096,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Natera by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 148,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $23,863,000 after purchasing an additional 57,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter worth $1,323,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.47.

Natera Trading Up 0.5%

NTRA stock traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $207.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 946,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,249,897. The stock has a market cap of $29.50 billion, a PE ratio of -135.48 and a beta of 1.57. Natera has a fifty-two week low of $131.81 and a fifty-two week high of $256.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $202.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.75.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.41) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Natera Company Profile

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.