Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Receives $152.67 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $153.67.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NTRA shares. StockNews.com lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $167.60 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.99. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera has a 52 week low of $58.53 and a 52 week high of $175.63. The stock has a market cap of $22.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -95.23 and a beta of 1.65.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Natera will post -1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total transaction of $73,422.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,937,930.64. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total value of $206,378.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,501,707.40. This represents a 0.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 127,932 shares of company stock worth $20,635,430. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Natera by 345.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Natera by 34.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.