Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $135.12, but opened at $155.56. Natera shares last traded at $163.45, with a volume of 653,463 shares trading hands.

The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.88% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total transaction of $30,737.92. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,881 shares of company stock valued at $3,733,983 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Natera by 1,073.1% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,118,000 after acquiring an additional 60,127 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 15.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,810,000 after purchasing an additional 9,781 shares in the last quarter. Natixis bought a new position in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at approximately $758,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 37.9% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,243,000 after buying an additional 11,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in Natera during the second quarter worth $478,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.14, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.69 billion, a PE ratio of -85.86 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $126.71 and a 200 day moving average of $115.09.

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.