Robert W. Baird Increases Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target to $188.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective raised by Robert W. Baird from $183.00 to $188.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target indicates a potential upside of 20.04% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on NTRA. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.69.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $156.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $167.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.60. Natera has a twelve month low of $75.18 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a PE ratio of -88.98 and a beta of 1.66.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Research analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,442 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.87, for a total value of $233,416.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,032 shares in the company, valued at $17,487,139.84. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 295,772 shares of company stock worth $49,741,699. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Natera by 37.9% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,243,000 after buying an additional 11,362 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 86,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,936,000 after acquiring an additional 18,316 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Natera during the 3rd quarter worth $385,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $573,000. Finally, First Turn Management LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at $19,760,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.