Barclays Begins Coverage on Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Investment analysts at Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 19.32% from the stock’s current price.

NTRA has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.94.

Natera Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $167.61 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.07. The company has a market cap of $22.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -95.23 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. Natera has a one year low of $62.96 and a one year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.98, for a total value of $162,693.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 109,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,827,338.52. This trade represents a 0.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total value of $468,111.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,431,766.02. The trade was a 2.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 249,940 shares of company stock worth $41,094,664 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GDS Wealth Management lifted its stake in Natera by 245.0% in the fourth quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 12,463 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter worth about $372,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,894,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $297,000. 99.90% of the stock is 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.