Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Raises Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $574,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its position in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Natera by 34.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 16,280 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,577,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. This trade represents a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 305,454 shares of company stock valued at $51,290,625 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Craig Hallum upped their target price on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.88.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $173.39 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $167.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.83. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.03 and a 12-month high of $183.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $22.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.52 and a beta of 1.66.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.