Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) was down 2.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $159.67 and last traded at $163.86. Approximately 214,963 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,147,069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.63.

Natera Trading Down 6.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $20.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.98 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $164.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.28.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company 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) earnings per share. Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total transaction of $73,422.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,937,930.64. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 1,767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total transaction of $300,814.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,828.48. The trade was a 22.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 123,409 shares of company stock worth $20,045,631 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Natera by 345.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Natera by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Natera Company Profile

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.