Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given New $188.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price boosted by Robert W. Baird from $183.00 to $188.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.83% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.69.

Natera Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $155.59 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.95. The company has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -88.40 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. Natera has a 1 year low of $83.13 and a 1 year high of $183.00.

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

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total transaction of $14,793,433.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,224,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,135,977.44. The trade was a 6.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total transaction of $106,772.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 295,772 shares of company stock valued at $49,741,699. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,949,697,000 after purchasing an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Natera by 134.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,067,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871,862 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,060,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Natera by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $512,898,000 after acquiring an additional 439,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Natera by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,194,000 after acquiring an additional 85,236 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.