Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Receives $178.12 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $175.76.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.48, for a total transaction of $421,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 141,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,917,535.36. This trade represents a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 325,922 shares of company stock worth $51,603,664 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Natera in the third quarter valued at about $385,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $573,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 657 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,894,000. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $148.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.35 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $152.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.40. Natera has a one year low of $83.13 and a one year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) 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 company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Equities analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

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.