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

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $90.00 to $100.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the medical research company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.60% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on NTRA. StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Natera from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Natera from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Natera from $70.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Natera from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.40.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock traded down $4.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $90.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,182,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,482,113. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of -23.86 and a beta of 1.37. Natera has a twelve month low of $36.90 and a twelve month high of $98.82. The stock's 50 day moving average is $84.58 and its 200 day moving average is $64.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 3.96.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.73) by $0.09. Natera had a negative return on equity of 62.19% and a negative net margin of 40.16%. The firm had revenue of $311.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.38 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Natera will post -2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total value of $133,457.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,965,488. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider John Fesko sold 2,358 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total transaction of $153,482.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 108,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,061,874.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total transaction of $133,457.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 175,550 shares in the company, valued at $11,965,488. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,477 shares of company stock worth $28,552,682 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.42% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 720,160 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $45,111,000 after buying an additional 159,993 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth $223,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Natera by 33.4% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 374,004 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $16,550,000 after purchasing an additional 93,556 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its position in shares of Natera by 7.3% in the third quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 142,850 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,321,000 after acquiring an additional 9,755 shares during the period. Finally, RTW Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Natera by 1.5% in the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,651,783 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $117,341,000 after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares during the period. 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.