JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 36.19% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.00.

Natera Trading Down 11.5%

NTRA traded down $25.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $194.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,324,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,686. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -127.45 and a beta of 1.57. Natera has a 1 year low of $131.81 and a 1 year high of $256.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $202.23 and its 200-day moving average is $215.02.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.07). Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. The business had revenue of $696.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $617.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.50) earnings per share. Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total value of $693,564.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $185,956.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,896,580.72. This trade represents a 0.60% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,266 shares of company stock valued at $7,747,808. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 16.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,503 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden raised its stake in Natera by 193.4% during the 1st quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 82,737 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,547,000 after buying an additional 54,537 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Natera

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 revenue beat and margin improvement — Natera reported Q1 revenue of $696.6M, up 38.8% year-over-year, and a gross margin of 64.7%, both stronger than recent trends, which supports top-line growth expectations. BusinessWire: Q1 results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target tweak — Wells Fargo raised its price target modestly from $215 to $220 while keeping an “equal weight” rating, signaling cautious optimism but not a change to a buy stance. Benzinga: Wells Fargo price target
• Neutral Sentiment: FY‑2026 revenue guidance roughly in line with consensus — Natera updated FY‑2026 revenue guidance to about $2.7–$2.8B, which tracks street expectations and reduces uncertainty around top-line outlook but provides limited upside surprise. Press release / slide deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and metric breakdowns available — Coverage pieces review key Q1 metrics vs. estimates; useful for investors digging into volume, test mix and margins but not immediate market-moving items. Zacks: Key metrics vs estimates
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed expectations — Natera reported ($0.60) EPS, missing consensus (~($0.53)), and EPS declined versus the year-ago quarter; the bottom-line shortfall is a direct negative for near-term valuation sentiment. MarketBeat: Earnings summary
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — CEO and another insider disclosed stock sales (CEO sale ~ $186k; Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares), which can amplify selling pressure or signal management liquidity needs. AmericanBankingNews: CEO sale AmericanBankingNews: Solomon sale

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.