Wall Street Zen Upgrades Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Natera from "hold" to "buy", and several other firms have raised price targets; the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $253.47.
• Natera beat estimates this quarter with EPS of $0.35 (vs. -$0.46 est.) and revenue of $665.5M (vs. $600.7M est.), but the company still reports negative return on equity and net margin and is forecast to post -1.49 EPS for the year.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently—363,303 shares worth about $84.5M sold in the last three months—though insiders still hold approximately 5.63% of the company.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on NTRA. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.47.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $198.13 on Friday. Natera has a 12 month low of $125.38 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The stock has a market cap of $28.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -129.50 and a beta of 1.65. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $223.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.97.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.41) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 6,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.83, for a total value of $1,580,912.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,874,499.60. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 3,594 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.02, for a total value of $830,285.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 178,081 shares in the company, valued at $41,140,272.62. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 363,303 shares of company stock worth $84,523,079 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 103.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 95.7% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

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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