Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Purchases New Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV acquired a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,290 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Natera by 345.8% during the 4th 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. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 20.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake 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 buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.56.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 4,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.59, for a total transaction of $809,294.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,143,190.08. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,299 shares of company stock worth $34,948,265 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $147.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The firm has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.05 and a beta of 1.66. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $83.13 and a one year high of $183.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.66 and its 200-day moving average is $147.62.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Equities analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.