Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target Raised to $176.00 at Morgan Stanley

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $132.00 to $176.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on NTRA. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their target price on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.65.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $146.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a PE ratio of -82.99 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $127.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.76. Natera has a 1 year low of $52.01 and a 1 year high of $167.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.01.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its 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. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total value of $692,226.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 185,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,090,827.94. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,821 shares of company stock worth $4,776,878 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 1,073.1% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,118,000 after acquiring an additional 60,127 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 15.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,810,000 after purchasing an additional 9,781 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 37.9% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,243,000 after purchasing an additional 11,362 shares during the period. Natixis acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at approximately $758,000. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $478,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Natera

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.