Shell Asset Management Co. Acquires Shares of 1,137 Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Shell Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 1,137 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NTRA. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.12.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $153.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.17. The stock has a market cap of $20.93 billion, a PE ratio of -87.09 and a beta of 1.79. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.14 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 343 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.55, for a total value of $49,923.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 156,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,843,490.30. This trade represents a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.