Craig Hallum Issues Positive Forecast for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price increased by Craig Hallum from $121.00 to $157.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on NTRA. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.65.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $146.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.61. Natera has a 12-month low of $52.01 and a 12-month high of $167.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Natera will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $141,379.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,085,255.95. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.68, for a total transaction of $333,755.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,017,481.92. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,821 shares of company stock worth $4,776,878. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Natera by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,010,152,000 after buying an additional 72,848 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 13.6% during the second 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Natera by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $315,194,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,747,000 after buying an additional 143,825 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.