Robert W. Baird Boosts Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target to $188.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective boosted by Robert W. Baird from $183.00 to $188.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price suggests a potential upside of 20.83% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays began coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.69.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $155.59 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.95. The company has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of -88.40 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera has a 12-month low of $83.13 and a 12-month high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 25,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $4,277,837.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 109,665 shares in the company, valued at $18,091,435.05. This represents a 19.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 295,772 shares of company stock valued at $49,741,699 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Natera by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in Natera by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in Natera by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Natera

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.