Sanford C. Bernstein Raises Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target to $200.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price target hoisted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $160.00 to $200.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the medical research company’s stock.

NTRA has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.00.

Natera Stock Performance

Natera stock opened at $175.00 on Friday. Natera has a 52 week low of $59.80 and a 52 week high of $177.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $23.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.43 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $159.12 and a 200-day moving average of $131.68.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Natera will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total value of $206,378.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 194,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,501,707.40. This represents a 0.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $350,668.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. The trade was a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 127,932 shares of company stock worth $20,635,430. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $483,034,000 after buying an additional 532,874 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Natera by 205.4% during the third 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Natera by 3.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,194,000 after acquiring an additional 85,236 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $265,747,000 after acquiring an additional 143,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $213,860,000 after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.