Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Announces Earnings Results

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81, Zacks reports. Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The business had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.41) EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Natera’s conference call:

• Natera reported a strong Q4 with about 924,000 tests processed, MRD clinical units of 225,000 (+56% YoY), revenue of $666M (+~40% YoY), a record gross margin of 66.9%, and >$107M of operating cash flow in 2025 while guiding 2026 revenue to $2.62–2.70B with 63–65% gross margins.
• MRD adoption and product expansion accelerated—management said >50% of U.S. oncologists ordered Signatera in Q4, launched Signatera Genome, submitted the tissue‑free Latitude MRD to MolDX, and integrated phased‑variant technology (analytic LODs below 1 in 10 million) for improved sensitivity and pharma partnerships.
• In women’s health, Natera launched the 21‑gene Fetal Focus single‑gene NIPT (96% sensitivity, 98% specificity) with prospective EXPAND validation and an oral plenary at SMFM, which management says is driving new OBGYN/MFM account growth.
• Organ‑health momentum continues—Prospera enrollment completed in the randomized ACES‑EMB heart transplant trial (readout mid‑2027) and a lung transplant study showed clinicians omitted a 9‑month surveillance biopsy in ~75% of low‑risk patients without worse short‑term outcomes, supporting biopsy‑reduction use cases.
• Management noted some Q4 upside was driven by one‑time items—~$60M of revenue true‑ups, a deferred‑tax benefit related to the Foresight deal, and higher pharma mix—and warned some margin drivers may not repeat while several new products still lack broad reimbursement, representing execution and reimbursement risk.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded down $8.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $208.04. 2,761,790 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,165,991. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.85 and a beta of 1.64. Natera has a one year low of $125.38 and a one year high of $256.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $227.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.19.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 6,939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.83, for a total value of $1,580,912.37. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,874,499.60. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.77, for a total transaction of $378,232.03. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 137,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,810,952.19. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 368,119 shares of company stock worth $85,956,782 in the last three months. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 2,768,561.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 498,359 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $114,170,000 after buying an additional 498,341 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 2,524 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,329,166 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $304,499,000 after buying an additional 108,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NTRA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens upped their price target on Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.47.

More Natera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat — Natera reported Q4 revenue of $665.5M and GAAP EPS of $0.35, well ahead of street estimates (revenue ~$600.7M, EPS loss consensus). The beat supports near-term growth expectations and underpins the stock’s recent strength. Natera Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable clinical data — New Signatera MRD data presented at ASCO GU highlight potential utility across genitourinary cancers (including bladder preservation), which may expand clinical adoption and long-term revenue for Natera’s oncology franchise. Signatera MRD Data at ASCO GU
• Positive Sentiment: Trial results — Natera reported results from the SINERGY trial, another clinical datapoint that could support commercial adoption of its assays. Natera Announces Results From the SINERGY Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/targets — Robert W. Baird raised its price target to $257 (outperform) and Wells Fargo raised its target to $215 (equal weight), signaling some sell-side confidence in upside from current levels. Benzinga – Analyst Price Target Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Full-year revenue guidance roughly in line with consensus — Management issued FY2026 revenue guidance (roughly $2.6B–$2.7B), which appears consistent with street expectations and reduces upside surprise potential from guidance alone. (See Q4 release for guidance details.) Natera Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus — Aggregated analyst coverage remains constructive (average “Moderate Buy”), which supports medium-term expectations but doesn’t preclude short-term volatility. Analyst Average Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and fundamentals concerns — Despite the beat, Natera still shows negative net margin and negative return on equity on a GAAP basis; combined with a high market capitalization and a recent run-up toward 52-week highs, investors may be taking profits. MarketBeat Q4 Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy intraday volume and selling pressure — Trading volume was well above average, consistent with a distribution day where some holders trimmed positions after the company’s strong quarter; that drove the stock lower despite the positives. (See intraday volume and price action for context.)

Natera Company Profile

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.