Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $256.1176.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NTRA. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. William Blair began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total transaction of $101,456.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,102,333.04. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total transaction of $17,184,180.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,076,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,097,181.38. This represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 156,530 shares of company stock worth $33,914,062. 5.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 valued at $2,944,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,420 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Natera by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,140,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420,263 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Natera by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $545,624,000 after acquiring an additional 72,087 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $428,987,000 after acquiring an additional 727,366 shares during the period. Finally, Coatue Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 1,446.1% during the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $603,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $215.31 on Friday. Natera has a twelve month low of $131.81 and a twelve month high of $256.36. The firm has a market cap of $30.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -132.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $204.19 and a 200 day moving average of $216.06.

About Natera

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.