Analysts Set Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) PT at $178.12

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $178.12.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total transaction of $590,760.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,433,183.76. The trade was a 29.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at $18,217,063.20. The trade was a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 307,466 shares of company stock valued at $49,047,655. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Natera by 345.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Natera by 34.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 372.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $149.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.02 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $161.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.27. Natera has a 1 year low of $83.13 and a 1 year high of $183.00.

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

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.