RiverPark Advisors LLC Buys 420 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

RiverPark Advisors LLC grew its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,767 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 104.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Natera by 345.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 372.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $148.56 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $87.20 and a one year high of $183.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $148.64 and a 200 day moving average of $153.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The company has a market capitalization of $20.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.41 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 13,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total value of $2,269,930.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 253,944 shares in the company, valued at $42,121,691.28. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.98, for a total transaction of $162,693.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 109,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,827,338.52. The trade was a 0.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 199,194 shares of company stock worth $30,646,524. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.76.

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.