The Goldman Sachs Group Boosts Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target to $100.00

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $90.00 to $100.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on NTRA. StockNews.com cut shares of Natera from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Raymond James cut shares of Natera from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Natera from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $86.40.

Natera Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NTRA opened at $90.33 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.83 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Natera has a 12 month low of $36.90 and a 12 month high of $98.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $85.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.41.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $311.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.38 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 40.16% and a negative return on equity of 62.19%. Equities analysts predict that Natera will post -2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 80,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $7,265,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,676,799.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,816 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.13, for a total transaction of $634,774.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,206,632.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 80,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $7,265,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,560 shares in the company, valued at $10,676,799.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 453,293 shares of company stock valued at $36,453,056. Company insiders own 9.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its position in Natera by 109.3% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 745 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Natera by 224.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by 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.