Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $200.00 to $205.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential upside of 48.69% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on NTRA. Craig Hallum increased their price target on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Guggenheim increased 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.00.

Natera Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded down $5.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $137.87. 2,049,471 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,317,920. The company has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -78.31 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.50. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera has a one year low of $83.13 and a one year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. On average, analysts predict that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. This represents a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 43,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.88, for a total value of $7,694,633.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,492,857.52. The trade was a 38.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,299 shares of company stock valued at $34,948,265. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its stake in Natera by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Natera by 34.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in Natera by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 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.