Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given New $330.00 Price Target at Canaccord Genuity Group

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $285.00 to $330.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 20.93% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Natera from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $275.00 price target on shares of Natera and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.83.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $272.89 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $228.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.24. Natera has a 1 year low of $131.81 and a 1 year high of $288.04. The company has a market cap of $39.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -167.42 and a beta of 1.51.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total value of $9,089,637.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at $24,035,465.29. The trade was a 27.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total transaction of $2,389,310.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,183 shares in the company, valued at $1,343,009.43. This trade represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,872 shares of company stock worth $39,627,696. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Coatue Management LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 1,446.1% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $603,270,000 after buying an additional 2,463,008 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Natera by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,140,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420,263 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter worth $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Natera by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,944,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

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.