Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.81 EPS

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81, Zacks reports. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.61% and a negative return on equity of 25.07%. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.41) EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Natera’s conference call:

• Natera reported a strong Q4 with about 924,000 tests processed, MRD clinical units of 225,000 (+56% YoY), revenue of $666M (+~40% YoY), a record gross margin of 66.9%, and >$107M of operating cash flow in 2025 while guiding 2026 revenue to $2.62–2.70B with 63–65% gross margins.
• MRD adoption and product expansion accelerated—management said >50% of U.S. oncologists ordered Signatera in Q4, launched Signatera Genome, submitted the tissue‑free Latitude MRD to MolDX, and integrated phased‑variant technology (analytic LODs below 1 in 10 million) for improved sensitivity and pharma partnerships.
• In women’s health, Natera launched the 21‑gene Fetal Focus single‑gene NIPT (96% sensitivity, 98% specificity) with prospective EXPAND validation and an oral plenary at SMFM, which management says is driving new OBGYN/MFM account growth.
• Organ‑health momentum continues—Prospera enrollment completed in the randomized ACES‑EMB heart transplant trial (readout mid‑2027) and a lung transplant study showed clinicians omitted a 9‑month surveillance biopsy in ~75% of low‑risk patients without worse short‑term outcomes, supporting biopsy‑reduction use cases.
• Management noted some Q4 upside was driven by one‑time items—~$60M of revenue true‑ups, a deferred‑tax benefit related to the Foresight deal, and higher pharma mix—and warned some margin drivers may not repeat while several new products still lack broad reimbursement, representing execution and reimbursement risk.

Natera Trading Down 3.7%

Natera stock traded down $8.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $208.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,761,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,165,991. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $227.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.19. Natera has a 12 month low of $125.38 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The company has a market capitalization of $28.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.85 and a beta of 1.64.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 3,594 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.02, for a total transaction of $830,285.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 178,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,140,272.62. The trade was a 1.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.77, for a total transaction of $378,232.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 137,847 shares in the company, valued at $31,810,952.19. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 368,119 shares of company stock worth $85,956,782. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 2,768,561.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 498,359 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $114,170,000 after purchasing an additional 498,341 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 2,524 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,329,166 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $304,499,000 after buying an additional 108,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $951,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Natera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat — Natera reported Q4 revenue of $665.5M and GAAP EPS of $0.35, well ahead of street estimates (revenue ~$600.7M, EPS loss consensus). The beat supports near-term growth expectations and underpins the stock’s recent strength. Natera Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable clinical data — New Signatera MRD data presented at ASCO GU highlight potential utility across genitourinary cancers (including bladder preservation), which may expand clinical adoption and long-term revenue for Natera’s oncology franchise. Signatera MRD Data at ASCO GU
• Positive Sentiment: Trial results — Natera reported results from the SINERGY trial, another clinical datapoint that could support commercial adoption of its assays. Natera Announces Results From the SINERGY Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/targets — Robert W. Baird raised its price target to $257 (outperform) and Wells Fargo raised its target to $215 (equal weight), signaling some sell-side confidence in upside from current levels. Benzinga – Analyst Price Target Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Full-year revenue guidance roughly in line with consensus — Management issued FY2026 revenue guidance (roughly $2.6B–$2.7B), which appears consistent with street expectations and reduces upside surprise potential from guidance alone. (See Q4 release for guidance details.) Natera Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus — Aggregated analyst coverage remains constructive (average “Moderate Buy”), which supports medium-term expectations but doesn’t preclude short-term volatility. Analyst Average Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and fundamentals concerns — Despite the beat, Natera still shows negative net margin and negative return on equity on a GAAP basis; combined with a high market capitalization and a recent run-up toward 52-week highs, investors may be taking profits. MarketBeat Q4 Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy intraday volume and selling pressure — Trading volume was well above average, consistent with a distribution day where some holders trimmed positions after the company’s strong quarter; that drove the stock lower despite the positives. (See intraday volume and price action for context.)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NTRA. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. BTIG Research upped their target price on Natera from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.47.

Natera Company Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.