Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Natera in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Natera from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Natera from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.38.

Natera Trading Down 1.6%

Natera stock opened at $310.78 on Wednesday. Natera has a 12-month low of $152.62 and a 12-month high of $326.03. The stock has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -228.51 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.82.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.82% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.The company had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.74) EPS. Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.99, for a total transaction of $79,057.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 183,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,249,594.26. This represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,159,898.14. The trade was a 0.92% 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 have sold a total of 181,045 shares of company stock worth $41,330,968 over the last three months. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter worth $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.