EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $242,000 Investment in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,526 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,001 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 0.7% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $313,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,865 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Natera by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 325,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $51,472,000 after purchasing an additional 132,273 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $152.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a PE ratio of -86.52 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.15. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.14 and a fifty-two week 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.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.56) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.61, for a total value of $606,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,471,223.44. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 152,436 shares of company stock worth $22,019,079. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.82.

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.