Short Interest in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Grows By 33.7%

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,850,000 shares, an increase of 33.7% from the February 28th total of 2,880,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 24,861 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $4,101,319.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 140,684 shares in the company, valued at $23,208,639.48. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 325,922 shares of company stock worth $51,603,664. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Natera by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,949,697,000 after acquiring an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Natera by 134.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Natera by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,681 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $355,809,000 after purchasing an additional 142,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $4.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $133.87. The stock had a trading volume of 3,247,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,378,504. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.10 billion, a PE ratio of -76.06 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. Natera has a 52 week low of $83.13 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $156.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.23.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.91 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of a number of research reports. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.12.

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.