Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Given Buy Rating at Canaccord Genuity Group

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $250.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 3.66% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NTRA. BNP Paribas raised shares of Natera to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.29.

Natera Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $3.38 on Monday, hitting $241.17. The company had a trading volume of 508,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,438,447. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $199.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.16 and a beta of 1.63. Natera has a 52 week low of $125.38 and a 52 week high of $246.90.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by ($0.25). Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The firm had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.26) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.15, for a total value of $714,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 109,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,972,877.15. This represents a 2.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Roy D. Baynes sold 7,668 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.08, for a total value of $1,710,577.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,525.72. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 307,687 shares of company stock valued at $63,466,360 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Natera by 63.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,373 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Natera by 36.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 583 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 10,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after buying an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at about $171,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 44.2% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 173,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,862,000 after acquiring an additional 53,086 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.