Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on NTRA. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.56.

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Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded up $7.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $140.02. The stock had a trading volume of 2,219,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,338,070. Natera has a one year low of $83.13 and a one year high of $183.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of -79.56 and a beta of 1.80. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $165.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.16.

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

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at $18,217,063.20. The trade was a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 294,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,212,702 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in 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 valued at $1,067,327,000 after buying an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Natera by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $224,040,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at 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.