Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price target lifted by analysts at Piper Sandler from $249.00 to $363.50 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.75% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Natera from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Natera in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Leerink Partners set a $330.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.88.

Natera Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $4.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $316.77. The stock had a trading volume of 274,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,699. Natera has a 1 year low of $152.62 and a 1 year high of $326.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $258.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.81. The company has a market capitalization of $45.66 billion, a PE ratio of -232.92 and a beta of 1.51.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.74) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Natera will post -1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total value of $905,627.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 129,019 shares in the company, valued at $34,264,866.02. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $4,132,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,062,500. This trade represents a 79.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.