Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $132.00 to $176.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on NTRA. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.65.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRA traded down $4.52 on Thursday, hitting $146.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,415,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,334,964. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.09. Natera has a 52-week low of $52.01 and a 52-week high of $167.79.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Natera will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.45, for a total transaction of $235,955.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,851 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,208.95. The trade was a 2.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total value of $30,737.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,434,752.37. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,881 shares of company stock worth $3,733,983 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Natera by 1,073.1% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,118,000 after acquiring an additional 60,127 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Natera by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,810,000 after purchasing an additional 9,781 shares during the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at about $758,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Natera by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,243,000 after acquiring an additional 11,362 shares during the period. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at $478,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.