Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target Raised to $200.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price hoisted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $160.00 to $200.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 15.95% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.94.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock opened at $172.49 on Friday. Natera has a 1 year low of $57.22 and a 1 year high of $175.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $143.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.57 and a beta of 1.63. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.95) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Natera will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 4,858 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.59, for a total transaction of $809,294.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,912 shares in the company, valued at $19,143,190.08. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,141,737.28. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,987 shares of company stock worth $21,895,591 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $144,958,000 after purchasing an additional 328,375 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at $385,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 113.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 7,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $950,000 after purchasing an additional 3,973 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at $305,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,747,000 after buying an additional 143,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.