Savant Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,933 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 259 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $2,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Natera by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the second quarter worth about $380,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 119.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,441 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 8,406 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 30.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,064 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays initiated coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.88.

Natera Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Natera stock opened at $169.71 on Wednesday. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $183.00. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $167.72 and its 200 day moving average is $141.94. The company has a market cap of $22.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.43 and a beta of 1.66.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.95) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $350,668.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 312,394 shares of company stock valued at $52,333,520 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.