Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Key Points

• Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Natera to “strong buy,” adding to a broadly positive analyst outlook. The stock has a consensus “moderate buy” rating and an average price target of $322.50.
• Natera reported quarterly revenue of $752.75 million, up 37.7% year over year and above analyst expectations, while its adjusted loss of $0.47 per share beat estimates by $0.02.
• Shares opened at $324.14, near their 52-week high of $343.18. Insiders have sold 71,206 shares worth nearly $20 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 99.90% of the stock.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Rothschild & Co Redburn to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

NTRA has been the subject of several other reports. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Natera from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on Natera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.50.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $324.14 on Tuesday. Natera has a 1 year low of $157.43 and a 1 year high of $343.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -238.34 and a beta of 1.54. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $294.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.44.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.74) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.89, for a total transaction of $4,955,652.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 110,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,238,698.51. This trade represents a 12.03% 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, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $4,132,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,500. This trade represents a 79.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,206 shares of company stock valued at $19,944,069. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

About Natera

Natera, Inc is a diagnostic company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services based on cell-free DNA and other genetic technologies. The company's tests are designed to help clinicians assess genetic and reproductive health, monitor organ transplants, and detect and track cancer.

Its principal products include Panorama, a noninvasive prenatal screening test; Horizon, a carrier screening test; Signatera, a personalized circulating tumor DNA test used in cancer monitoring; and Prospera, a molecular test intended to help assess the risk of organ transplant rejection.

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