Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $205.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 1,352,014 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the previous session’s volume of 1,315,422 shares.The stock last traded at $134.50 and had previously closed at $143.11.

NTRA has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. This trade represents a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,299 shares of company stock valued at $34,948,265 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,210,000. HWG Holdings LP grew its position in Natera by 173.0% in the fourth quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 40,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,449,000 after acquiring an additional 25,819 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its position in Natera by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 96,105 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,213,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Natera by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,317 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $327,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.50. The stock has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -82.18 and a beta of 1.66.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. Research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

About Natera

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.