JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $315.00 to $360.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on NTRA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, July 17th. William Blair initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Natera from $220.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $299.65.

Natera Stock Up 21.4%

Shares of Natera stock opened at $322.10 on Friday. Natera has a 52 week low of $149.38 and a 52 week high of $323.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $254.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -236.84 and a beta of 1.51.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.82%. The business had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.74) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.99, for a total transaction of $79,057.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 183,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,249,594.26. This represents a 0.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total value of $905,627.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 129,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,264,866.02. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968 over the last ninety days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 6.6% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Natera by 68.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Natera by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth $298,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth $558,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Natera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue significantly exceeded expectations. Natera generated $752.8 million in second-quarter revenue, up 37.7% year over year and well above the $661.2 million analyst consensus. Gross margin also improved to 64.5% from 63.4% a year earlier. Natera Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: The quarterly loss narrowed. Natera reported a loss of $0.47 per share, compared with a $0.74-per-share loss in the prior-year quarter, and better than the $0.49 loss expected by analysts. The result suggests continued operating improvement despite the company remaining unprofitable. Natera Reports Q2 Loss and Beats Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to approximately $2.9 billion, above the roughly $2.8 billion consensus estimate. The higher guidance points to sustained momentum across Natera’s reproductive health, oncology, and transplant-testing businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on NTRA from $315 to $360 and maintained an “overweight” rating, signaling that the bank sees additional upside after the earnings beat. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Natera submitted its Signatera bladder-cancer test to Japan’s PMDA for approval as a companion diagnostic. Clearance could expand the company’s international oncology market and create another source of long-term growth. Natera Submits Signatera to Japan’s PMDA
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. Because the sales were relatively small compared with their remaining holdings and were not discretionary open-market disposals, they provide limited negative information.
• Negative Sentiment: Natera remains unprofitable, and its very high valuation leaves the shares vulnerable to profit-taking if growth slows or future results fail to exceed elevated expectations. Commentary identifying NTRA as entering a potential profit-taking zone highlights this near-term risk. IBD 50 Stock Natera Profit-Taking Zone

About Natera

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.