Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price Up 4% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Natera shares rose 4% to about $406.58, significantly above the analyst consensus price target of $330.83. Despite the valuation gap, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 18 of 23 covering analysts rating the stock Buy or Strong Buy.
• The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with revenue of $752.75 million—up 37.7% year over year—and an adjusted loss of $0.47 per share versus the projected $0.49 loss. Natera remains unprofitable, reporting a negative net margin and analysts forecasting a $1.02 loss per share for the full year.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 99.9%, and several investment firms increased their holdings. Insiders sold $15.2 million in shares during the quarter, though the transactions were conducted under pre-arranged plans primarily to cover tax obligations on vested equity awards.

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) shares were up 4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $400.89 and last traded at $406.5810. Approximately 148,911 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,361,573 shares. The stock had previously closed at $390.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $375.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Natera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $330.83.

Natera Trading Up 1.6%

The firm's 50-day moving average is $312.04 and its 200 day moving average is $250.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -291.42 and a beta of 1.54.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The company's revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.74) EPS. Analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.89, for a total value of $4,955,652.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 110,859 shares in the company, valued at $36,238,698.51. This represents a 12.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. Also, insider John Fesko sold 6,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.53, for a total transaction of $2,095,411.01. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 197,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,424,043.21. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 51,712 shares of company stock valued at $15,169,033 in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,488 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,290,000 after purchasing an additional 4,797 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,336,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden increased its position in Natera by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 96,737 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,259,000 after buying an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Natera by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,257 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the period. Finally, BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,695,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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