Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price target lifted by Piper Sandler from $150.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

NTRA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.59.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $169.20 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.00. Natera has a 12 month low of $53.62 and a 12 month high of $171.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.34 billion, a PE ratio of -96.14 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its 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 26.23%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total value of $692,226.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 185,034 shares in the company, valued at $27,090,827.94. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 9,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.98, for a total transaction of $1,548,926.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,552,445.92. This trade represents a 49.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,503 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,804 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Natera by 13.6% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares in the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 295.9% during the first quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 656,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,063,000 after purchasing an additional 490,822 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 257.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,553,000 after purchasing an additional 469,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PointState Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $99,343,000 after buying an additional 413,468 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently 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.