Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Hits New 52-Week High at $109.67

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $109.67 and last traded at $109.12, with a volume of 35533 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $108.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Raymond James lowered Natera from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Natera from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.47.

Natera Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $95.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a current ratio of 4.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a PE ratio of -34.78 and a beta of 1.38.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by $0.16. Natera had a negative net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 49.72%. The firm had revenue of $367.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.23) earnings per share. Natera's revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,779 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total transaction of $725,895.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 219,456 shares in the company, valued at $23,499,348.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,779 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total transaction of $725,895.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 219,456 shares in the company, valued at $23,499,348.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Rabinowitz sold 35,307 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.09, for a total transaction of $2,651,202.63. Following the sale, the insider now owns 204,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,334,729.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 323,628 shares of company stock worth $29,214,503. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its position in shares of Natera by 47.8% during the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 538 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Natera by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,216 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Natera by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 45,469 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,012,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its holdings in Natera by 109.3% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 745 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Natera in the first quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

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.