Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Rating Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) was upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. William Blair initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.12.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $215.31 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $204.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.06. Natera has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $256.36. The company has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -132.09 and a beta of 1.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total value of $17,184,180.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,076,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $237,097,181.38. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.43, for a total transaction of $655,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 137,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,065,360.49. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 156,530 shares of company stock valued at $33,914,062 in the last 90 days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 6.6% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 68.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Natera by 8.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth $298,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth $558,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.