Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Trading Down 4.7% – What’s Next?

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) shares fell 4.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $156.16 and last traded at $154.85. 183,263 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,386,618 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. Guggenheim upped their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. 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 report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.82.

Natera Trading Down 7.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.79 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $147.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.64.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.56) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. This represents a 30.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total value of $859,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 143,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,600,516.72. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 152,436 shares of company stock worth $22,019,079 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 104.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 117.8% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.