Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given “Buy” Rating at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $180.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

NTRA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.94.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock opened at $160.56 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $167.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.60. Natera has a one year low of $73.93 and a one year high of $183.00. The company has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a PE ratio of -91.23 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total value of $14,793,433.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,224,787 shares in the company, valued at $207,135,977.44. This trade represents a 6.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total transaction of $106,772.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 114,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,217,063.20. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 295,772 shares of company stock worth $49,741,699 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Natera by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Natera by 345.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Natera by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Natera by 372.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during 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.