Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Natera shares reached a new 52-week high, trading around $331 after closing at $325.07, with the stock up 0.7% and well above its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $319.38; recent targets range from $320 to $363.50.
• Natera exceeded quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, reporting $752.75 million in revenue and a loss of $0.47 per share, though it remains unprofitable. Insiders have sold $41.3 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $328.79 and last traded at $331.2270, with a volume of 65418 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $325.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $319.38.

Natera Trading Up 0.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $47.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -240.80 and a beta of 1.51. The company's 50 day moving average is $269.73 and its 200 day moving average is $228.01.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business's revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.74) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total transaction of $2,389,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,343,009.43. This represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total value of $905,627.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 129,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,264,866.02. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968. 5.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 68.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Natera by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $847,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $298,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $558,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

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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