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

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Guggenheim from $170.00 to $200.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical research company's stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.63.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock traded down $10.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $158.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,384,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,752. Natera has a twelve month low of $62.96 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $164.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.98 and a beta of 1.65. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) 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 business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Natera's revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $350,668.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at $3,073,262.58. The trade was a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $141,379.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,085,255.95. The trade was a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 123,409 shares of company stock valued at $20,045,631 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $483,034,000 after buying an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Natera by 205.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position 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 worth $315,194,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 7.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $265,747,000 after purchasing an additional 143,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 2.4% in the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $213,860,000 after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

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.