The Goldman Sachs Group Raises Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target to $140.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price target raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $125.00 to $140.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Natera from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.44.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $122.40 on Wednesday. Natera has a 52 week low of $36.90 and a 52 week high of $133.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.14 and a quick ratio of 4.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.39. Natera had a negative return on equity of 36.74% and a negative net margin of 21.47%. The firm had revenue of $413.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.97) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Natera will post -1.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,523 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total value of $589,799.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 191,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,927,655.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total value of $589,799.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 191,163 shares in the company, valued at $24,927,655.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 549 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.16, for a total value of $57,732.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 113,637 shares in the company, valued at $11,950,066.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,765 shares of company stock valued at $6,016,700. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Natera by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,010,152,000 after acquiring an additional 72,848 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Natera by 6.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $259,634,000 after purchasing an additional 148,917 shares in the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 2.4% in the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $213,860,000 after buying an additional 45,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Natera by 25.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,229,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $156,092,000 after buying an additional 246,246 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.