Analysts Set Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target at $178.12

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.12.

NTRA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Natera Trading Down 2.0 %

NTRA stock opened at $146.28 on Friday. Natera has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The firm has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -83.11 and a beta of 1.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $162.76 and its 200-day moving average is $149.26. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 25,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $4,277,837.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 109,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,091,435.05. This trade represents a 19.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. This trade represents a 30.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 298,946 shares of company stock worth $47,803,462. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,949,697,000 after purchasing an additional 879,463 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Natera by 134.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Natera by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Natera by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Natera by 3.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $315,194,000 after acquiring an additional 85,236 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.