Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Natera shares reached a new 52-week high of $371.59 and were recently trading near $366, well above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $330.83; several firms recently initiated or reiterated buy-equivalent ratings.
• Natera reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including revenue of $752.75 million—up 37.7% year over year—and a narrower-than-expected loss, though the company remains unprofitable and insiders have sold shares recently.

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $371.59 and last traded at $366.2210, with a volume of 2446 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $369.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Natera from an "outperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Natera in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $310.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $330.83.

Natera Trading Up 0.4%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $305.45 and a 200 day moving average of $247.02. The firm has a market cap of $53.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -271.60 and a beta of 1.54.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.74) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $4,132,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,062,500. The trade was a 79.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.89, for a total transaction of $4,955,652.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,238,698.51. This trade represents a 12.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Insiders sold 68,242 shares of company stock valued at $19,301,534 in the last 90 days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Natera during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,962,770,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,944,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $199,960,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Natera by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,179,939 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $270,312,000 after buying an additional 620,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services based on cell-free DNA and other genomic technologies. The company focuses on reproductive health, oncology and organ health, providing tests intended to support screening, diagnosis, treatment planning and disease monitoring.

Its reproductive health portfolio includes Panorama, a noninvasive prenatal test that screens for certain chromosomal conditions, and Horizon, a carrier screening test.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.