JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised Natera’s price target from $360 to $460 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 16.53% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Natera has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $368.69, with several firms recently raising their targets.
• Natera reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including revenue of $752.75 million, up 37.7% year over year, though the company remains unprofitable and insiders have sold shares worth $16.1 million over the past 90 days.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the medical research company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.53% from the stock's previous close.

NTRA has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Natera from $365.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Stephens increased their target price on Natera from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.69.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $394.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,047,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,399,687. The company has a market capitalization of $56.90 billion, a PE ratio of -290.26 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $351.59 and a 200 day moving average of $271.46. Natera has a 12 month low of $172.82 and a 12 month high of $437.41.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%. Natera's revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.74) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Natera will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven Chapman sold 1,273 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.31, for a total value of $526,143.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,060,485.06. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.22, for a total transaction of $1,242,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 106,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,285,917.08. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,985 shares of company stock worth $16,119,137. 5.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 4.6% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 815 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 5.5% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its stake in Natera by 48.5% during the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in Natera by 5.5% during the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 982 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

About Natera

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services designed to assess genetic and disease-related risks. The company uses technologies including cell-free DNA analysis and next-generation sequencing to support clinical decision-making in reproductive health, oncology and organ transplantation.

Its reproductive health offerings include Panorama, a noninvasive prenatal test that screens for certain chromosomal conditions, and Horizon, a carrier screening test that evaluates whether prospective parents carry genetic variants associated with inherited disorders.

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