The Goldman Sachs Group Boosts Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target to $100.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price target raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on NTRA. Craig Hallum began coverage on Natera in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a buy rating and a $117.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Natera from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $120.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Natera from $70.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James cut Natera from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $86.40.

Natera Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of Natera stock opened at $87.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Natera has a 12-month low of $36.90 and a 12-month high of $98.82. The company has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.03 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.57.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.73) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 40.16% and a negative return on equity of 62.19%. The company had revenue of $311.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.38 million. Research analysts anticipate that Natera will post -2.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,958 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total value of $133,457.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,965,488. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider John Fesko sold 2,358 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total transaction of $153,482.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 108,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,061,874.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total value of $133,457.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 175,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,965,488. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 453,293 shares of company stock worth $36,453,056. Insiders own 9.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its position in Natera by 109.3% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 745 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 224.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.