Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given New $160.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price upped by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $120.00 to $160.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price points to a potential upside of 5.88% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on NTRA. StockNews.com raised shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Natera from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.65.

Natera Stock Down 6.1 %

NTRA stock opened at $151.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.09. The company has a market capitalization of $18.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.86 and a beta of 1.53. Natera has a twelve month low of $52.01 and a twelve month high of $167.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.14, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced 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. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.88% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Natera will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total transaction of $344,439.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 284,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,324,409.37. This represents a 0.94 % 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, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.45, for a total transaction of $235,955.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,208.95. This represents a 2.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,881 shares of company stock valued at $3,733,983 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Natera by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,010,152,000 after acquiring an additional 72,848 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $483,034,000 after buying an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 2.4% in the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $213,860,000 after acquiring an additional 45,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in Natera by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $170,119,000 after purchasing an additional 269,706 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Natera

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.