Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Receives “Buy” Rating from Canaccord Genuity Group

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by Canaccord Genuity Group in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $180.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.65% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on NTRA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price 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. Barclays assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their price target on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.94.

Natera Stock Up 3.3 %

NTRA traded up $5.23 on Wednesday, hitting $161.23. The company had a trading volume of 929,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,349,861. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -91.72 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.50. Natera has a 52-week low of $73.93 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

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

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Natera by 134.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after buying an additional 3,871,862 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,060,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,396 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 205.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,493,000 after buying an additional 1,883,481 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,040,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $146,419,000. 99.90% of the stock is 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.