Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Canaccord Genuity Group

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $375.00 to $500.00 in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 23.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Leerink Partners set a $330.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $340.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $290.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $374.64.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $405.92 on Monday. Natera has a 52 week low of $181.00 and a 52 week high of $437.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $361.69 and a 200-day moving average of $278.71.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%. Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.74) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 6,517 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.53, for a total transaction of $2,095,411.01. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 197,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,424,043.21. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.89, for a total value of $4,955,652.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 110,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,238,698.51. This trade represents a 12.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 52,985 shares of company stock valued at $16,119,137 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Natera in the second quarter worth approximately $2,962,770,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new position in Natera in the second quarter worth approximately $5,117,000. Abbot Financial Management Inc. bought a new position in Natera in the second quarter worth approximately $1,537,000. Eagle Health Investments LP bought a new position in Natera in the second quarter worth approximately $4,302,000. Finally, BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in Natera during the second quarter worth $11,695,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services designed to provide personalized genetic and genomic information. Its tests are used across reproductive health, oncology and organ transplantation, with the company combining next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics to analyze DNA and monitor disease-related signals.

In reproductive health, Natera offers Panorama noninvasive prenatal screening, Horizon carrier screening and Vistara single-gene disorder screening.