Robert W. Baird Raises Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target to $160.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $120.00 to $160.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.88% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on NTRA. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.65.

Natera Stock Down 6.1 %

Shares of NTRA opened at $151.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.69 billion, a PE ratio of -85.86 and a beta of 1.53. Natera has a 1 year low of $52.01 and a 1 year high of $167.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.09.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.88%. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total transaction of $73,422.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,937,930.64. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $589,799.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 191,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,927,655.20. This represents a 2.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,881 shares of company stock worth $3,733,983. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 1,073.1% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,118,000 after purchasing an additional 60,127 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Natera by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,810,000 after buying an additional 9,781 shares during the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new stake in Natera in the 1st quarter valued at about $758,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,243,000 after acquiring an additional 11,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $478,000. 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.