Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Position Lifted by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 17.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,778 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Natera by 32.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Natera by 3.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,477 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. RiverPark Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 3.5% in the third quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 3,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 5.4% in the third quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 9,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.98, for a total transaction of $1,548,926.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,552,445.92. This represents a 49.94 % 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 link. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.68, for a total transaction of $333,755.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,481.92. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,503 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,804 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $168.45 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.88 and a 12-month high of $171.95. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.24 billion, a PE ratio of -95.71 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $133.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.08.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.59.

About Natera

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.