For the quarter ended December 2024, Natera (NTRA) reported revenue of $476.06 million, up 53% over the same period last year. EPS came in at -$0.41, compared to -$0.64 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $471.92 million, representing a surprise of +0.88%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +2.38%, with the consensus EPS estimate being -$0.42.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Natera performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Tests Processed Volume: 792,800 compared to the 771,561 average estimate based on three analysts.
• Revenues- Licensing and other: $3.15 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $3.48 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -18.3%.
• Revenues- Product: $472.90 million compared to the $406.47 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +53.9% year over year.

View all Key Company Metrics for Natera here>>>

Shares of Natera have returned -19.2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -5.6% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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