Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Receives Overweight Rating from Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $150.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a buy rating and a $142.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $120.07.

Natera Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NTRA opened at $126.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.14 and a quick ratio of 4.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.42. Natera has a 1-year low of $36.90 and a 1-year high of $128.28. The stock has a market cap of $15.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.55 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.39. Natera had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 36.74%. The business had revenue of $413.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.00 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.97) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 12,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $1,452,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 287,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,783,235.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 12,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $1,452,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 287,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,783,235.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 499 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.40, for a total transaction of $53,592.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 77,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,314,693.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,388 shares of company stock worth $10,205,064. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,205 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 3,235 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.