Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Increases Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at $1,788,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Natera by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 18,933 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Natera by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 740,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $117,274,000 after purchasing an additional 69,455 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $173.39 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.03 and a 12-month high of $183.00. The company has a market capitalization of $22.89 billion, a PE ratio of -98.52 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $167.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.83. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on 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 target on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 9,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.98, for a total transaction of $1,548,926.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,552,445.92. This represents a 49.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 305,454 shares of company stock valued at $51,290,625. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.