Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 1,822,593 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 38% from the previous session’s volume of 1,321,940 shares.The stock last traded at $104.05 and had previously closed at $106.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Natera from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Natera from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $117.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.19.

Natera Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a current ratio of 4.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.91 and a beta of 1.48.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $367.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.31 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 49.72% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.23) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.29, for a total transaction of $72,650.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,982,034.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel Rabinowitz sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.59, for a total transaction of $3,137,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 204,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,388,132.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.29, for a total value of $72,650.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,982,034.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 118,259 shares of company stock valued at $12,600,885. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Natera by 50.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Natera in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its position in Natera by 47.8% in the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 538 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its position in Natera by 109.3% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 745 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.