Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $140.59.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the transaction, the director now 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. Insiders have sold 46,503 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,804 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 42.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $144,958,000 after buying an additional 328,375 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth approximately $385,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Natera by 113.1% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 7,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $950,000 after buying an additional 3,973 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth approximately $305,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,747,000 after buying an additional 143,825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $169.17 on Wednesday. Natera has a 52-week low of $55.56 and a 52-week high of $171.95. The stock has a market cap of $22.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.12 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $137.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.28.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Natera will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

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.