Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Sanford C. Bernstein

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) was upgraded by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

NTRA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group set a $260.00 price target on Natera in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.22.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $261.91 on Thursday. Natera has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $271.47. The company has a market capitalization of $37.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -160.68 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total transaction of $9,089,637.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,035,465.29. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total transaction of $2,389,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,343,009.43. This represents a 64.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 178,872 shares of company stock valued at $39,415,896 in the last three months. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Natera by 68.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 8.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $558,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.