HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Acquires New Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,518 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in Natera by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in Natera by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 998 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $138.71 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.13 and a 1 year high of $183.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.20. The company has a market cap of $18.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -78.81 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NTRA. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. This represents a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 24,861 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $4,101,319.17. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,208,639.48. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 325,922 shares of company stock valued at $51,603,664. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Natera Company Profile

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.