Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Natera shares experienced a significant gap up, opening at $162.00 compared to the previous close of $141.08.
• Analysts have raised their price targets on Natera, with Barclays and Piper Sandler setting new targets of $210.00, while UBS Group increased theirs to $218.00.
• The company reported a revenue of $546.60 million for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, despite a miss in earnings per share with a loss of ($0.74).

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $251.00 to $255.00. The stock had previously closed at $141.08, but opened at $162.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Natera shares last traded at $160.13, with a volume of 959,359 shares.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Natera from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,807 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.88, for a total transaction of $771,634.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 163,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,738,237.84. This represents a 3.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.89, for a total value of $398,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,353,310.51. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,239 shares of company stock worth $8,986,542. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 117.8% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 114.8% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $20.75 billion, a PE ratio of -79.55 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.85.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 22.93%. The business had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. Natera's revenue was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.