Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Sold by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 30.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,635 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,469 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Natera by 345.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 372.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Natera by 20.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $149.63 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $83.13 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $161.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.27. The company has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.02 and a beta of 1.80.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total transaction of $859,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 143,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,600,516.72. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 307,466 shares of company stock worth $49,047,655. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.