Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Short Interest Down 29.2% in October

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,860,000 shares, a decrease of 29.2% from the September 30th total of 5,450,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, August 11th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Natera from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $172.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 928 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.46, for a total value of $177,674.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 150,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,852,830.54. This trade represents a 0.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 160,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.96, for a total transaction of $32,134,171.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 144,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,957,407.36. This trade represents a 52.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 221,767 shares of company stock worth $42,612,020 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 32.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 848 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Natera by 9.8% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Natera by 780.1% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,461 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 29.0% in the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 29,637 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,191,000 after acquiring an additional 6,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the first quarter worth $31,959,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $198.23 on Tuesday. Natera has a one year low of $121.01 and a one year high of $200.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $175.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -103.79 and a beta of 1.74.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative return on equity of 22.22% and a negative net margin of 12.89%.The company had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.30) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. Natera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal 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.