Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

NTRA has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.12.

Natera Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $153.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $148.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.17. The company has a market capitalization of $20.93 billion, a PE ratio of -87.09 and a beta of 1.79. 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 1-year low of $92.14 and a 1-year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Natera’s revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.56) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,433,183.76. The trade was a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 152,436 shares of company stock worth $22,019,079. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 104.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 117.8% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Company Profile

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.