Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Upgraded at Royal Bank of Canada

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada to a “moderate buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on NTRA. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

Natera Stock Up 4.0 %

NTRA stock opened at $148.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of -84.22 and a beta of 1.80. 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 twelve month low of $83.13 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.21.

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

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 25,931 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $4,277,837.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 109,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,091,435.05. This trade represents a 19.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 298,946 shares of company stock worth $47,803,462. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Natera by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its position in Natera by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in Natera by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.