Canaccord Genuity Group Raises Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target to $165.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $150.00 to $165.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 9.19% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given 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 $137.65.

Natera Stock Down 6.1 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $151.11 on Wednesday. Natera has a 1 year low of $52.01 and a 1 year high of $167.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.09.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Natera will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total transaction of $30,737.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,891 shares in the company, valued at $13,434,752.37. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,881 shares of company stock worth $3,733,983 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after acquiring an additional 532,874 shares in the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 295.9% during the 1st quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 656,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,063,000 after purchasing an additional 490,822 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 257.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,553,000 after purchasing an additional 469,327 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 53.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,783,000 after purchasing an additional 334,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 311.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 406,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $44,036,000 after purchasing an additional 307,920 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.