Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Natera, Inc. has a consensus rating of "Buy" from 18 analysts, with a target price averaging $194.00.
• CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold over 6,000 shares at an average price of $139.81, indicating a 3.47% decrease in his ownership.
• The company reported a quarterly revenue of $546.60 million, exceeding analyst estimates, but posted a loss of ($0.74) EPS for the quarter.

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $194.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 price objective on Natera and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.77, for a total value of $500,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 130,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,714,287.85. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $851,722.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 169,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,683,814. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,423 shares of company stock worth $9,117,416 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Natera by 30.8% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,986 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Natera by 9.8% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,293 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 32.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 848 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Natera by 24.1% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 141,106 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $19,954,000 after purchasing an additional 27,379 shares during the period. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $167.39. The company had a trading volume of 841,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,479,647. The firm has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.64 and a beta of 1.68. Natera has a 12-month low of $114.62 and a 12-month high of $183.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $154.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.68.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 22.22%. The firm had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $476.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 32.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Natera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

About Natera

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.