Natera’s (NTRA) Buy Rating Reiterated at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $180.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

NTRA has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.69.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $155.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The company has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -88.40 and a beta of 1.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.67. Natera has a one year low of $83.13 and a one year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The business had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total transaction of $14,793,433.76. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,135,977.44. This represents a 6.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 295,772 shares of company stock worth $49,741,699. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in 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 buying an additional 166 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Natera by 372.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Natera by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.