Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Rating Increased to Buy at Zacks Investment Research

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA – Get Rating) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports. The firm currently has a $39.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 3.83% from the stock’s previous close.

According to Zacks, “Natera, Inc. offers genetic testing and diagnostics with proprietary bioinformatics and molecular technology. Natera, Inc. is headquartered in San Carlos, California. “

NTRA has been the topic of several other research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Monday, April 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Natera from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 13th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 10th. Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Natera from $135.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.54.

NTRA opened at $37.56 on Tuesday. Natera has a 1-year low of $26.10 and a 1-year high of $129.09. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.99, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 24th. The medical research company reported ($1.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($1.24) by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $173.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.59 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 90.55% and a negative net margin of 75.43%. The company’s revenue was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.89) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natera will post -6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,559 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $67,177.31. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,007.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Rabinowitz sold 884 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.16, for a total value of $37,269.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,332 shares of company stock valued at $659,678 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.86% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 148.6% during the 3rd quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,904 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Natera by 24.1% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 910 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 2.1% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. 96.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Company Profile (Get Rating)

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. It offers Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus with a blood draw from the mother, as well as twin pregnancies for zygosity; Vistara, a single-gene mutations screening test to identify single-gene disorder; Horizon carrier screening to determine carrier status for various genetic diseases; and Spectrum to identify chromosomal anomalies or inherited genetic conditions during an in vitro fertilization cycle.

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