JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $135.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on NTRA. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.06.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $160.97 on Wednesday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $126.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.84. Natera has a fifty-two week low of $49.97 and a fifty-two week high of $167.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a PE ratio of -91.46 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.95) EPS. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at $25,141,737.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total transaction of $344,439.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 284,741 shares in the company, valued at $36,324,409.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,881 shares of company stock worth $3,733,983. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Natera by 148.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Natera by 50.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Natera by 34.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

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.