Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price Down 2.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) were down 2.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $125.30 and last traded at $126.27. Approximately 140,776 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,339,545 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.73.

Natera Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $121.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.40 billion, a PE ratio of -41.54 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.14.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $413.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.00 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 36.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.97) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.67, for a total transaction of $377,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,432 shares in the company, valued at $7,217,479.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 3,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.67, for a total transaction of $377,010.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,217,479.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,242 shares of company stock worth $5,426,901 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Natera in the second quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Natera by 148.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 50.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Tobam bought a new stake in Natera in the second quarter worth $74,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Natera in the first quarter worth $83,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Natera Company Profile

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.