Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $168.88 and last traded at $168.71, with a volume of 964046 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $162.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NTRA. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price target on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.59.

Natera Trading Down 1.7 %

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 firm has a market cap of $21.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.14 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at $25,141,737.28. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $141,379.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,085,255.95. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after buying an additional 1,883,481 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after acquiring an additional 532,874 shares in the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 295.9% in the 1st quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 656,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $60,063,000 after acquiring an additional 490,822 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 257.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,553,000 after acquiring an additional 469,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PointState Capital LP boosted its position in Natera by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $99,343,000 after purchasing an additional 413,468 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.