Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.98% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NTRA. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. William Blair began coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.80.

Natera Trading Down 8.2%

NTRA stock traded down $17.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $201.87. 708,193 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,242,730. Natera has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $256.36. The stock has a market cap of $28.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -131.70 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $202.23 and its 200 day moving average is $215.02.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $59,992.56. Following the sale, the insider owned 187,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,597,275.20. This represents a 0.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total transaction of $693,564.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders sold 38,266 shares of company stock worth $7,747,808 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 16.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,503 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden raised its stake in Natera by 193.4% during the first quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 82,737 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,547,000 after purchasing an additional 54,537 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 8.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake 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. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 5.8% in the first quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

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.