Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Buys Shares of 1,878 Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,878 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Natera by 205.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Natera by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,194,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,747,000 after purchasing an additional 143,825 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,119,000 after purchasing an additional 269,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,229,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $156,092,000 after purchasing an additional 246,246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total transaction of $692,226.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 185,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,090,827.94. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 311,731 shares of company stock valued at $52,215,659 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.88.

Natera Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $174.24 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.26 and a 200-day moving average of $139.52. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.68 and a 12-month high of $183.00. The firm has a market cap of $23.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.00 and a beta of 1.66.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.95) EPS. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.