Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Receives Outperform Rating from Wolfe Research

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by research analysts at Wolfe Research in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $260.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price objective points to a potential upside of 18.82% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NTRA. BTIG Research cut their price target on Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.81.

Natera Stock Down 2.0%

NTRA stock opened at $218.81 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $202.69 and its 200-day moving average is $215.84. The company has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -134.24 and a beta of 1.56. Natera has a twelve month low of $131.81 and a twelve month high of $256.36.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total transaction of $693,564.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total value of $594,781.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,293,298.34. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 34,406 shares of company stock worth $6,984,955 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Coatue Management LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 1,446.1% during the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $603,270,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,008 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Natera by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,140,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420,263 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter worth about $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Natera by 10.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $428,987,000 after acquiring an additional 727,366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.