Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Price Target Raised to $215.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on NTRA. Citigroup began coverage on Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Stephens raised their price objective on Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Evercore lifted their target price on Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.47.

Natera Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $8.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $208.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,761,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,045,862. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $226.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.54. Natera has a fifty-two week low of $125.38 and a fifty-two week high of $256.36. The company has a market capitalization of $28.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -135.97 and a beta of 1.64.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 16.71%. The business had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.68 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.41) earnings per share. Research 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 6,939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.83, for a total value of $1,580,912.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,120 shares in the company, valued at $11,874,499.60. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 3,594 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.02, for a total value of $830,285.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 178,081 shares in the company, valued at $41,140,272.62. The trade was a 1.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 368,119 shares of company stock valued at $85,956,782. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Natera by 44.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,795,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263,822 shares during the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 1,446.1% in the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $603,270,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,008 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Natera by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,140,026,000 after buying an additional 2,420,263 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Natera during the second quarter worth $277,749,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 37.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $428,987,000 after buying an additional 727,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Natera

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat — Natera reported Q4 revenue of $665.5M and GAAP EPS of $0.35, well ahead of street estimates (revenue ~$600.7M, EPS loss consensus). The beat supports near-term growth expectations and underpins the stock’s recent strength. Natera Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable clinical data — New Signatera MRD data presented at ASCO GU highlight potential utility across genitourinary cancers (including bladder preservation), which may expand clinical adoption and long-term revenue for Natera’s oncology franchise. Signatera MRD Data at ASCO GU
• Positive Sentiment: Trial results — Natera reported results from the SINERGY trial, another clinical datapoint that could support commercial adoption of its assays. Natera Announces Results From the SINERGY Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/targets — Robert W. Baird raised its price target to $257 (outperform) and Wells Fargo raised its target to $215 (equal weight), signaling some sell-side confidence in upside from current levels. Benzinga – Analyst Price Target Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Full-year revenue guidance roughly in line with consensus — Management issued FY2026 revenue guidance (roughly $2.6B–$2.7B), which appears consistent with street expectations and reduces upside surprise potential from guidance alone. (See Q4 release for guidance details.) Natera Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus — Aggregated analyst coverage remains constructive (average “Moderate Buy”), which supports medium-term expectations but doesn’t preclude short-term volatility. Analyst Average Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and fundamentals concerns — Despite the beat, Natera still shows negative net margin and negative return on equity on a GAAP basis; combined with a high market capitalization and a recent run-up toward 52-week highs, investors may be taking profits. MarketBeat Q4 Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy intraday volume and selling pressure — Trading volume was well above average, consistent with a distribution day where some holders trimmed positions after the company’s strong quarter; that drove the stock lower despite the positives. (See intraday volume and price action for context.)

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.