Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target Raised to $285.00 at Canaccord Genuity Group

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price raised by Canaccord Genuity Group from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Natera from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $172.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Natera from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 target price on Natera and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.18.

Natera Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $235.57 on Monday. Natera has a twelve month low of $125.38 and a twelve month high of $246.90. The company has a market cap of $32.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -102.87 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.60.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.55 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.61% and a negative return on equity of 25.07%. The business’s revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.26) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.07, for a total transaction of $1,047,508.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 140,416 shares in the company, valued at $33,428,837.12. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.12, for a total value of $17,709,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,154,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,529,231.76. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 365,164 shares of company stock valued at $76,621,909. 5.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,525,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 277.8% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,624 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,498,000 after acquiring an additional 19,576 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 30.1% in the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,242 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,237,000 after acquiring an additional 3,063 shares during the period. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 3.0% in the second quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC now owns 124,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Natera by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 141,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,954,000 after purchasing an additional 27,379 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.