Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $183.00 and last traded at $169.30, with a volume of 1734013 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.00.

Natera Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.86. The company has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of -94.18 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $350,668.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $141,379.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,695 shares in the company, valued at $13,085,255.95. The trade was a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 123,409 shares of company stock worth $20,045,631. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP raised its position in Natera by 148.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 345.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Natera

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.