Brokerages Set Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Target Price at $260.33

Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $262.00.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Natera from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total transaction of $9,089,637.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at $24,035,465.29. The trade was a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total transaction of $2,389,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,343,009.43. The trade was a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 178,872 shares of company stock valued at $39,627,696 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 244 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Natera by 5.5% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Corp grew its position in Natera by 5.5% during the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 982 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $274.39 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $224.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.38. Natera has a 1 year low of $131.81 and a 1 year high of $288.04. The company has a market cap of $39.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -168.34 and a beta of 1.51.

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.