Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target Raised to $250.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $250.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 8th. BNP Paribas raised Natera to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Natera from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.88.

Natera Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $237.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $32.72 billion, a PE ratio of -103.55 and a beta of 1.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.04. Natera has a 12-month low of $125.38 and a 12-month high of $241.28.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,867 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.64, for a total transaction of $355,924.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,224,980.64. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 160,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.96, for a total transaction of $32,134,171.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 144,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,957,407.36. The trade was a 52.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 308,366 shares of company stock worth $63,050,068 in the last three months. 5.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 56.3% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 3,795,315 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Natera by 44.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,795,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263,822 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at $277,749,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the 1st quarter valued at $113,375,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 140.4% during the 1st 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 worth $177,298,000 after purchasing an additional 732,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.