Natera Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 7,482 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 450% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,360 put options.

Natera Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $148.22 on Friday. Natera has a 1 year low of $83.13 and a 1 year high of $183.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.22 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $164.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.21.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total transaction of $590,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at $1,433,183.76. This represents a 29.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total transaction of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 298,946 shares of company stock worth $47,803,462 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Natera by 134.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Natera by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Natera by 205.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $224,040,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $146,419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

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.