Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Downgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NTRA. Raymond James lowered Natera from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Natera from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Natera from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $70.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $86.40.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $91.04 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.49. The company has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.02 and a beta of 1.37. Natera has a 12-month low of $36.90 and a 12-month high of $98.82.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 40.16% and a negative return on equity of 62.19%. The business had revenue of $311.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.38 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Natera will post -2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 14,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $964,178.17. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,074,431.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 14,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total transaction of $964,178.17. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,957 shares in the company, valued at $16,074,431.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Rabinowitz sold 35,307 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.09, for a total transaction of $2,651,202.63. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 204,218 shares in the company, valued at $15,334,729.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 453,644 shares of company stock worth $36,594,940 over the last three months. 9.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Natera during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its stake in Natera by 109.3% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 745 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its position in shares of Natera by 47.8% during the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.