Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target Raised to $200.00 at Guggenheim

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Guggenheim from $170.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.69% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on NTRA. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.63.

Natera Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $168.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $22.25 billion, a PE ratio of -95.74 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.77. Natera has a 12-month low of $62.96 and a 12-month high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total transaction of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 114,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,217,063.20. The trade was a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 123,409 shares of company stock valued at $20,045,631 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Natera by 148.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Natera by 345.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Natera by 34.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is 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.