Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

NTRA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.83.

Natera Trading Down 2.7%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $269.83 on Tuesday. Natera has a twelve month low of $131.81 and a twelve month high of $288.04. The company has a market cap of $38.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -165.54 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total value of $9,089,637.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total transaction of $693,564.45. Following the transaction, the insider owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. The trade was a 2.34% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 178,872 shares of company stock valued at $39,627,696. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 244 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Natera by 5.5% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp raised its stake in Natera by 5.5% in the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 982 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.