Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target Raised to $365.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on NTRA. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $375.00 price target on Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.38.

Natera Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $309.93 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $44.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.89 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $263.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.40. Natera has a 12 month low of $156.71 and a 12 month high of $326.03.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.The firm had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.74) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total transaction of $905,627.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 129,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,264,866.02. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total value of $9,089,637.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Natera

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.