JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target to $260.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective raised by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $250.00 to $260.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.34% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 price objective on shares of Natera and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.12.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $227.40 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $209.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.74. Natera has a one year low of $125.38 and a one year high of $246.90. The stock has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.30 and a beta of 1.63.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). Natera had a negative net margin of 14.61% and a negative return on equity of 25.07%. The business had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.26) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 4,692 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.76, for a total transaction of $1,082,725.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 113,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,090,879.40. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.12, for a total value of $17,709,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,154,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,529,231.76. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 365,164 shares of company stock valued at $76,621,909. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Natera by 56.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,537,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,490,144,000 after buying an additional 3,795,315 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Natera by 44.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,795,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263,822 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $277,749,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 140.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,253,790 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $177,298,000 after acquiring an additional 732,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 37.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $428,987,000 after purchasing an additional 727,366 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Company Profile

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.