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

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $152.67.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NTRA. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,709 shares of the 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 $206,378.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,501,707.40. This represents a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 127,932 shares of company stock valued at $20,635,430. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 205.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,481 shares during the period. 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 valued at $483,034,000 after acquiring an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 257.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,553,000 after buying an additional 469,327 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP grew its position in Natera by 112.0% in the third quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $99,343,000 after buying an additional 413,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Natera by 53.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,783,000 after acquiring an additional 334,630 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Natera stock opened at $158.30 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $152.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.01. The stock has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a PE ratio of -89.94 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera has a 12-month low of $58.53 and a 12-month high of $175.63.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.