Analysts Set Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Target Price at $253.47

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $253.4667.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. William Blair started coverage on Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Guggenheim upped their target price on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $207.74 on Friday. Natera has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $256.36. The firm has a market cap of $29.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -135.78 and a beta of 1.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $203.29 and its 200 day moving average is $212.51.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.The company had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.41) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Natera will post -1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total value of $9,016,424.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares in the company, valued at $15,552,392.42. This represents a 36.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 3,594 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.02, for a total value of $830,285.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 178,081 shares in the company, valued at $41,140,272.62. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 177,654 shares of company stock valued at $41,007,391 over the last 90 days. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Natera by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 244 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Natera by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,804 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH increased its position in shares of Natera by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH now owns 2,229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Natera

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.