Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada has raised its target price for Natera's stock from $251.00 to $255.00, indicating a potential upside of 65.24% from the current price.
• Several other brokerages, including UBS and Barclays, have also adjusted their price targets for Natera, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "strong buy."
• Natera reported earnings of ($0.74) per share, missing estimates but showing a 32.2% year-over-year revenue growth to $546.60 million for the quarter.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $251.00 to $255.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the medical research company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target suggests a potential upside of 65.24% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on NTRA. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI raised Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.18.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock traded up $13.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $154.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,544,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,520,657. The company's 50-day moving average price is $155.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.19. Natera has a twelve month low of $104.00 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -104.79 and a beta of 1.76.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 18.29% and a negative net margin of 10.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total transaction of $418,383.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 65,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,990,082. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,496 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.17, for a total value of $332,392.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $767,458.71. The trade was a 30.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 60,239 shares of company stock worth $8,986,542. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,135 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,219,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,652 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Natera by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,580 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in Natera by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,914 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,417 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.