Canaccord Genuity Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price lifted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.67.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $167.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $155.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.99. 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 PE ratio of -95.23 and a beta of 1.65.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. The trade was a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 127,932 shares of company stock worth $20,635,430 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 205.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,493,000 after buying an additional 1,883,481 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,194,000 after buying an additional 85,236 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,747,000 after buying an additional 143,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.4% during the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $213,860,000 after buying an additional 45,500 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.