Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) was upgraded by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

NTRA has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.22.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $261.91 on Thursday. Natera has a fifty-two week low of $131.81 and a fifty-two week high of $271.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.51 billion, a PE ratio of -160.68 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $212.73 and its 200 day moving average is $215.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total transaction of $9,089,637.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,035,465.29. The trade was a 27.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total transaction of $2,389,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,343,009.43. This trade represents a 64.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 178,872 shares of company stock worth $39,415,896 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Coatue Management LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 1,446.1% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $603,270,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,008 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Natera by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,140,026,000 after buying an additional 2,420,263 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Natera by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after buying an additional 1,225,420 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Natera by 37.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $428,987,000 after purchasing an additional 727,366 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Company Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.