Brokerages Set Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Target Price at $319.38

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $319.3750.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research raised their price target on Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Natera in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on Natera in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $355.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.39, for a total transaction of $819,415.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,611,561.83. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider John Fesko sold 295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.99, for a total transaction of $79,057.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 183,774 shares in the company, valued at $49,249,594.26. The trade was a 0.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 181,045 shares of company stock worth $41,330,968. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 244 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Natera by 5.5% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its position in Natera by 48.5% during the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp lifted its stake in Natera by 5.5% during the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 982 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in Natera by 3.1% during the third quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,804 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $332.03 on Friday. Natera has a 1 year low of $157.43 and a 1 year high of $333.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -244.14 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $274.24 and its 200 day moving average is $229.38.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. Natera’s revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.74) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

About Natera

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.