Canaccord Genuity Group Increases Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target to $285.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective increased by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $250.00 to $285.00 in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 21.07% from the stock’s previous close.

NTRA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Natera to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.18.

Natera Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $235.40 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.56 billion, a PE ratio of -102.79 and a beta of 1.63. Natera has a 1 year low of $125.38 and a 1 year high of $246.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $214.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.10.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.26) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 4,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.10, for a total transaction of $1,061,374.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,777 shares in the company, valued at $1,404,388.70. This trade represents a 43.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Herm Rosenman sold 48,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.42, for a total value of $11,011,448.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,626,177.64. This represents a 70.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 365,164 shares of company stock worth $76,621,909 in the last 90 days. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 4.2% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the 1st quarter worth about $788,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 1,857.1% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 274 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in Natera during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,392,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Natera by 83.5% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

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.