Bridges Investment Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,589 Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,589 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Natera by 345.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Natera by 34.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Natera by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the third quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $143.11 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -81.31 and a beta of 1.66. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $83.13 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $167.44 and its 200 day moving average is $147.35.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 43,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.88, for a total transaction of $7,694,633.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,629 shares in the company, valued at $12,492,857.52. This represents a 38.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’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 value of $117,861.51. Following the sale, the insider now owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,299 shares of company stock worth $34,948,265 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.69.

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.