Analysts Set Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target at $152.67

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $152.67.

Several analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,523 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total value of $589,799.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 191,163 shares in the company, valued at $24,927,655.20. This trade represents a 2.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 3,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.67, for a total transaction of $377,010.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,217,479.44. The trade was a 4.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 130,932 shares of company stock worth $21,012,440 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Natera by 8.0% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 25,076 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,715,000 after buying an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 8,027 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in shares of Natera by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 93,853 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,161,000 after buying an additional 1,985 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the second quarter worth approximately $217,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Natera by 6.4% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 24,584 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $160.26. The company had a trading volume of 684,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,600. The stock has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -91.06 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.23. Natera has a one year low of $58.53 and a one year high of $175.63.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Natera's quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

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.