Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 7,482 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 450% compared to the average volume of 1,360 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays assumed coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.12.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA traded down $2.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $146.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 477,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,740,067. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $163.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.06. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera has a 12 month low of $83.13 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.15 and a beta of 1.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 298,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,803,462 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 104.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Natera by 345.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Natera by 372.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. 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.