Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Invests $204,000 in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV purchased a new stake in 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 institutional investor purchased 1,290 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 104.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 345.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Natera by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Natera by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Natera during the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.56.

Natera Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $147.92 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.13 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.62. 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 $19.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.05 and a beta of 1.66.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 4,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.59, for a total value of $809,294.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,912 shares in the company, valued at $19,143,190.08. This represents a 4.06 % 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, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 1,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total value of $300,814.08. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,828.48. This represents a 22.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 208,299 shares of company stock worth $34,948,265. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Natera 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.