Roth/MKM started coverage of Natera, Inc. (NTRA) on Friday, October 23, 2026, with a Buy rating and a $475 price target, Investing.com reported. The firm built its case on the company's cancer testing business rather than its older prenatal franchise.

The case for MRD

The core of the call is minimal residual disease testing, known as MRD. These blood tests look for traces of cancer left after treatment. Roth/MKM expects MRD market penetration to rise from mid-single digits to more than 20%. It argues that upward estimate revisions along that path support the stock's premium valuation.

The firm listed several other drivers.

• Patients who are tested again over time, for cancer recurrence and for organ transplant health, give Natera a recurring source of volume.
• Reimbursement gains should lift average selling prices and margins.
• The women's health business keeps a steady base under the cancer business, in the view of the firm.
• The FIND-CRC study, a prospective validation of early cancer detection, reads out in 2027.

Investing.com put the shares at $401.37 when it reported the call. The $475 target sits 18.3% above that price, as calculated by Trend & Ticker. The outlet put the market value at $59.59 billion.

What the last report showed

Natera's second quarter release, filed with the SEC on August 6, gave the oncology case its numbers. Revenue rose 37.7% to $752.8 million. Oncology tests processed climbed 57.2% to about 296,700. Total tests reached about 1,043,900, up 22.4%.

Gross margin improved to 64.5% from 63.4%. The loss from operations narrowed to $75.8 million from $110.4 million. Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash stood at $1.09 billion against $80.3 million of debt.

"We had an exceptional quarter helping patients, with over one million tests processed for the second consecutive quarter and record growth in oncology volumes," chief executive Steve Chapman said in the release.

Management raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $2.85 billion to $2.91 billion, up $100 million at the midpoint. It also guided to a gross margin of about 64% to 66% and positive cash flow for the year.

The Roth/MKM thesis now runs through the third quarter report. Oncology volume is the figure to watch there, after the 57.2% jump in the second quarter set a high bar for the MRD story.