Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $205.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Approximately 1,352,014 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the previous session’s volume of 1,315,422 shares.The stock last traded at $134.50 and had previously closed at $143.11.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on NTRA. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays started coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.00.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. This represents a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,299 shares of company stock worth $34,948,265. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in Natera by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in Natera by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in Natera by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.79 billion, a PE ratio of -80.88 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.50.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.