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

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $200.00 to $205.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the medical research company's stock. Piper Sandler's price target suggests a potential upside of 38.59% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on NTRA. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.56.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock traded up $5.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $147.92. 1,653,211 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,323,719. The company's 50 day moving average price is $166.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.62. The company has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.05 and a beta of 1.66. Natera has a 12 month low of $83.13 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 43,502 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,629 shares in the company, valued at $12,492,857.52. This represents a 38.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,299 shares of company stock worth $34,948,265 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Natera by 134.9% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 3,871,862 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Natera by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 worth $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 purchasing an additional 85,236 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.