Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also commented on NTRA. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

Natera Stock Down 2.0 %

NTRA stock opened at $146.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a PE ratio of -83.11 and a beta of 1.80. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.26. Natera has a one year low of $83.13 and a one year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total transaction of $590,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,433,183.76. The trade was a 29.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total transaction of $106,772.40. Following the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 298,946 shares of company stock worth $47,803,462 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position 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 last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.