Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $150.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target suggests a potential upside of 32.20% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.59.

Natera Trading Up 3.6 %

NTRA traded up $5.23 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $151.29. 658,345 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,335,641. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $127.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.76. Natera has a 52-week low of $53.31 and a 52-week high of $167.79. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a PE ratio of -85.96 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.95) EPS. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Natera will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at $25,141,737.28. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.67, for a total value of $377,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,432 shares in the company, valued at $7,217,479.44. The trade was a 4.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,821 shares of company stock valued at $4,776,878. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Natera by 15.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,810,000 after purchasing an additional 9,781 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Natera by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,010,152,000 after purchasing an additional 72,848 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the first quarter worth approximately $220,000. Natixis purchased a new position in Natera during the first quarter worth approximately $758,000. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP purchased a new position in Natera during the first quarter worth approximately $14,498,000. 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.