Natera’s (NTRA) Buy Rating Reiterated at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $250.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on NTRA. Zacks Research lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Natera from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Natera from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $172.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.29.

Natera Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $233.13 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -101.80 and a beta of 1.63. Natera has a 1 year low of $125.38 and a 1 year high of $246.90.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.55 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.26) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.12, for a total value of $17,709,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,154,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,529,231.76. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 4,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.10, for a total value of $1,061,374.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,404,388.70. The trade was a 43.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 312,053 shares of company stock worth $64,527,735. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Natera by 63.3% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,373 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Natera by 36.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 583 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Natera by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 10,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares during the period. Investment Research Partners LLC bought a new position in Natera during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $171,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 173,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,862,000 after purchasing an additional 53,086 shares during the period. 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.