Royal Bank of Canada Upgrades Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) to "Moderate Buy"

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 12th,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on NTRA. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays started coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded up $4.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.87. 2,162,894 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,346,669. The firm has a market cap of $20.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.72 and a beta of 1.80. Natera has a twelve month low of $83.13 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.26. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.91 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. This represents a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 298,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,803,462 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Natera by 134.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,067,327,000 after buying an additional 3,871,862 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Natera by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,060,836,000 after buying an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Natera by 205.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $355,493,000 after buying an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $224,040,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $146,419,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.