Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target Raised to $205.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price target boosted by Piper Sandler from $200.00 to $205.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.56.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $141.50 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -80.40 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.63. Natera has a fifty-two week low of $83.13 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. On average, analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 43,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.88, for a total value of $7,694,633.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,629 shares in the company, valued at $12,492,857.52. The trade was a 38.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,299 shares of company stock worth $34,948,265 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Natera by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 345.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 372.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.