Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Sanford C. Bernstein Analyst Says

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Sanford C. Bernstein from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.55% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on NTRA. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Natera from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.69.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $1.96 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $126.70. 468,653 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,315,067. Natera has a 1-year low of $37.67 and a 1-year high of $133.54. The company has a market capitalization of $15.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.71 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.14.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.39. The business had revenue of $413.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $343.00 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 36.74% and a negative net margin of 21.47%. Natera’s revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.97) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Natera will post -1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total value of $30,737.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,434,752.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the company’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 value of $30,737.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,891 shares in the company, valued at $13,434,752.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.81, for a total value of $82,097.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,709 shares in the company, valued at $8,638,556.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,904 shares of company stock valued at $5,165,501 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,010,152,000 after buying an additional 72,848 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Natera by 6.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $259,634,000 after purchasing an additional 148,917 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 2.4% in the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $213,860,000 after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 25.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,229,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $156,092,000 after purchasing an additional 246,246 shares during the last quarter. 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.