Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Rating Lowered to "Sell" at StockNews.com

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $182.12.

Natera Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $152.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -86.70 and a beta of 1.79. Natera has a 52 week low of $92.14 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.51.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.56) EPS. The company's revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,160,963.60. This trade represents a 30.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total transaction of $859,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 143,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,600,516.72. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,393,827 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,752,611,000 after acquiring an additional 77,357 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Natera by 56.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,537,743 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,490,144,000 after buying an additional 3,795,315 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Natera by 9.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,361,963 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,041,055,000 after buying an additional 660,538 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Natera by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $512,898,000 after buying an additional 439,778 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,681 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $355,809,000 after buying an additional 142,201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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