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

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

NTRA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.12.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $215.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -132.09 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.06. Natera has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $256.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.43, for a total value of $655,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 137,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,065,360.49. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total transaction of $17,184,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,076,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $237,097,181.38. The trade was a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 156,530 shares of company stock valued at $33,914,062 in the last three months. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its position in Natera by 103.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Natera by 132.9% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Natera

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.