JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $160.00 to $200.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.08% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on NTRA. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.67.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock opened at $166.55 on Friday. Natera has a one year low of $57.22 and a one year high of $175.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $144.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a PE ratio of -94.63 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 1,767 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total value of $300,814.08. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,055,828.48. The trade was a 22.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,141,737.28. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,987 shares of company stock valued at $21,895,591 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at $57,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.