Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $337.12 and last traded at $336.71, with a volume of 1732447 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $327.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Natera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on Natera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Natera from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $319.38.

Natera Stock Up 2.7%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $278.79 and a 200 day moving average of $231.01. The stock has a market cap of $48.53 billion, a PE ratio of -247.58 and a beta of 1.51.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $661.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.74) EPS. Natera's revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total transaction of $2,389,310.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,343,009.43. This trade represents a 64.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total value of $9,089,637.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 177,955 shares of company stock valued at $40,704,193 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Company Profile

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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