Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Now Covered by Analysts at Barclays

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) in a research report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $200.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NTRA. Guggenheim upped their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.94.

Natera Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NTRA opened at $171.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a PE ratio of -97.63 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. Natera has a 12 month low of $62.96 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $165.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.41.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 1,767 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total transaction of $300,814.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,055,828.48. This trade represents a 22.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. This trade represents a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 224,133 shares of company stock worth $36,830,652 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Natera by 34.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Natera by 32.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 16,280 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,577,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.