Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given New $157.00 Price Target at Craig Hallum

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price target boosted by Craig Hallum from $121.00 to $157.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Craig Hallum’s price objective points to a potential upside of 3.90% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NTRA. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.65.

Natera Trading Down 6.1 %

Natera stock opened at $151.11 on Wednesday. Natera has a twelve month low of $52.01 and a twelve month 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $126.71 and a 200-day moving average of $115.09.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Natera will post -1.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $141,379.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,695 shares in the company, valued at $13,085,255.95. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,881 shares of company stock worth $3,733,983. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 13.6% in 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 during the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Natera by 295.9% in the first quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 656,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $60,063,000 after buying an additional 490,822 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Natera by 257.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,553,000 after acquiring an additional 469,327 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 311.9% during 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 currently 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.