Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)’s share price fell 2.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $159.67 and last traded at $163.86. 214,963 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 1,147,069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on NTRA. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.63.

Natera Stock Down 6.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $20.91 billion, a PE ratio of -89.98 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.00 and a 200-day moving average of $134.28.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total transaction of $206,378.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 194,615 shares in the company, valued at $23,501,707.40. This trade represents a 0.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total value of $30,737.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,891 shares in the company, valued at $13,434,752.37. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 123,409 shares of company stock worth $20,045,631 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $2,024,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 222.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,412 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $317,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $291,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.