Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $135.12, but opened at $155.56. Natera shares last traded at $163.45, with a volume of 653,463 shares trading hands.

The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 36.74%. The business had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NTRA. StockNews.com raised shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.45, for a total value of $235,955.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 68,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,208.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.45, for a total transaction of $235,955.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,851 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,208.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $141,379.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 110,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,085,255.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,464 shares of company stock valued at $5,849,977 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,010,152,000 after purchasing an additional 72,848 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 13.6% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after buying an additional 532,874 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Natera by 3.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,194,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC raised its stake in Natera by 2.4% during the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $213,860,000 after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,229,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $156,092,000 after acquiring an additional 246,246 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Up 21.0 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.52. The company has a current ratio of 4.14, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $20.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -66.71 and a beta of 1.53.

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.