Erste Asset Management GmbH Invests $2.24 Million in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,244,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in Natera by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Natera by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. This trade represents a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total transaction of $590,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,433,183.76. The trade was a 29.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 298,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,803,462 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

Natera Trading Up 4.0 %

NTRA opened at $148.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.22 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $83.13 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $164.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.21. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. On average, research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS 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.