Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Natera has a "Moderate Buy" consensus from 19 analysts (14 buys, 1 strong buy, 3 holds, 1 sell) with an average 12‑month target of about $253.47.
• Insider and institutional activity: Company insiders sold 314,545 shares worth ~$73.14M last quarter (including the CFO), while major institutions like Coatue, Wellington, JPMorgan and Norges Bank significantly increased positions—institutional ownership is reported at ~99.9%.
• Recent results: Natera beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $0.35 vs. consensus (−$0.46) and revenue of $665.5M vs. $600.7M, but the company still shows negative margins and analysts expect ~−$1.49 EPS for the year.

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $253.4667.

Several research firms have commented on NTRA. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, January 12th. William Blair started coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Natera from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Natera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total transaction of $9,016,424.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,552,392.42. The trade was a 36.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 17,806 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total transaction of $4,179,780.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 177,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,687,711.34. This trade represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 314,545 shares of company stock valued at $73,141,185 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Coatue Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 1,446.1% during the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $603,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463,008 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,140,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420,263 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth about $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,944,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $428,987,000 after acquiring an additional 727,366 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $208.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -136.21 and a beta of 1.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $203.35 and a 200 day moving average of $211.47. Natera has a 1 year low of $131.81 and a 1 year high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.41) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

About Natera

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.

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