Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target Increased to $140.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $125.00 to $140.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on NTRA. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.73.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $126.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.63 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.14. Natera has a 1 year low of $36.90 and a 1 year high of $133.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $122.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.95.

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

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 549 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.16, for a total value of $57,732.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 113,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,950,066.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 549 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.16, for a total value of $57,732.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 113,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,950,066.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $1,452,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 287,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,783,235.41. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,242 shares of company stock valued at $5,426,901 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Tobam acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Natera in the first quarter worth about $83,000. 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.