Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on NTRA. Craig Hallum raised their target price on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.65.

Natera Stock Down 6.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded down $9.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $151.11. 2,706,924 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,334,596. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.14. The stock has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a PE ratio of -85.86 and a beta of 1.53. The company's fifty day moving average is $126.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.09. Natera has a fifty-two week low of $52.01 and a fifty-two week high of $167.79.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.88% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company's revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Natera will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.68, for a total transaction of $333,755.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,017,481.92. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total value of $344,439.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 284,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,324,409.37. This trade represents a 0.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,881 shares of company stock valued at $3,733,983 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Natera by 148.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 50.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Natera by 34.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.