Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $337.12 and last traded at $336.71, with a volume of 1732447 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $327.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NTRA. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.38.

Natera Stock Up 0.1%

The firm has a market cap of $48.82 billion, a PE ratio of -249.04 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.96.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.74) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total value of $905,627.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 129,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,264,866.02. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,159,898.14. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 177,955 shares of company stock worth $40,704,193. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Natera by 28,373.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 56,324,789 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,289,364,000 after acquiring an additional 56,126,974 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Natera by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,962,770,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Natera by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,140,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Natera by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $545,624,000 after purchasing an additional 72,087 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.