Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Natera was upgraded to a "hold" rating by Wells Fargo, while several other analysts retained or increased their positive ratings, with target prices reaching as high as $268.00.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings report showed a revenue of $546.60 million, surpassing analyst expectations, but it still reported a loss of ($0.74) EPS, which was lower than the anticipated ($0.60).
• Insider activity revealed significant stock sales by CEO Steven Leonard Chapman and director Rowan E. Chapman, collectively amounting to over $1.3 million, while insiders sold a total of 56,423 shares in the past three months.

Equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an "equal weight" rating and a $175.00 price target on the medical research company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential downside of 2.34% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on NTRA. Evercore ISI raised shares of Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 target price on shares of Natera and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.88.

Natera Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NTRA opened at $179.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -93.82 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $157.22 and a 200 day moving average of $155.46. Natera has a twelve month low of $117.27 and a twelve month high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $476.84 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 22.22%. Natera's revenue was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.30) EPS. Natera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.99, for a total value of $459,222.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,444.85. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 678 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.46, for a total transaction of $105,401.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 152,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,746,048.62. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,423 shares of company stock worth $8,459,656. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 49.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 9,319 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,562,000 after buying an additional 3,065 shares during the last quarter. American Trust bought a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $226,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $169,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,140 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 165,352 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.