Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target Raised to $180.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price hoisted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $165.00 to $180.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NTRA. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.67.

Natera Trading Up 4.4 %

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $167.60 on Friday. Natera has a one year low of $58.53 and a one year high of $175.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $155.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -95.23 and a beta of 1.65.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Natera will post -1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 1,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total value of $300,814.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,055,828.48. This trade represents a 22.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of Natera 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 sale, the insider now owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 127,932 shares of company stock worth $20,635,430. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Natera by 148.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Natera by 345.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Natera by 34.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently 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.