Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target Raised to $285.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective lifted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 22.87% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NTRA. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 price objective on Natera and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Natera from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Natera from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $172.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.18.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $231.96 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.11. The company has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -101.29 and a beta of 1.63. Natera has a 52-week low of $125.38 and a 52-week high of $246.90.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.55 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.26) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Herm Rosenman sold 48,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.42, for a total transaction of $11,011,448.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,626,177.64. This represents a 70.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.07, for a total transaction of $1,047,508.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 140,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,428,837.12. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 365,164 shares of company stock valued at $76,621,909. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Natera by 83.5% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 233 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Natera in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 1,857.1% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 274 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

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.