Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Now Covered by Analysts at Roth Capital

Research analysts at Roth Capital started coverage on shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Natera from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Natera from $365.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on Natera from $340.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Natera from $290.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.20.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of Natera stock traded up $2.58 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $403.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,101,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,654,882. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -297.02 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $367.33 and a 200 day moving average of $282.37. Natera has a 52-week low of $181.00 and a 52-week high of $437.41.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.74) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Brophy sold 2,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.96, for a total value of $614,329.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,788,758.20. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Chapman sold 3,580 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.07, for a total transaction of $909,570.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,162,350.11. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 52,985 shares of company stock worth $16,119,137 in the last three months. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $2,962,770,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at about $199,960,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at about $150,143,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth about $149,278,000. Finally, Avala Global LP bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth about $124,867,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services designed to provide personalized genetic and genomic information. Its tests are used across reproductive health, oncology and organ transplantation, with the company combining next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics to analyze DNA and monitor disease-related signals.

In reproductive health, Natera offers Panorama noninvasive prenatal screening, Horizon carrier screening and Vistara single-gene disorder screening.