Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Leerink Partners set a $330.00 target price on Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Natera from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.38.

Natera Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $310.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $261.87 and its 200-day moving average is $225.82. Natera has a 1-year low of $152.62 and a 1-year 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.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total transaction of $905,627.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 129,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,264,866.02. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total value of $9,089,637.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,035,465.29. The trade was a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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.