Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $160.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the medical research company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential upside of 20.08% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on NTRA. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.94.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.55. 1,176,172 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,330,468. The company has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.01 and a beta of 1.63. Natera has a 1 year low of $57.22 and a 1 year high of $175.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $143.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.06. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 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 analysts' expectations of $361.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Natera will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total value of $14,793,433.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,135,977.44. This represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,987 shares of company stock worth $21,895,591. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Natera in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. 99.90% of the stock is 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.