Creative Planning Grows Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,146 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,521 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Natera were worth $1,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Natera during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in Natera during the second quarter worth about $36,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in Natera by 114.8% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Natera by 83.5% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on NTRA shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Natera from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Natera from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Natera to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.88.

Natera Stock Up 0.3%

Natera stock opened at $237.12 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -103.55 and a beta of 1.75. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.38 and a 52-week high of $241.28.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The business had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.26) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.62, for a total value of $499,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 120,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,137,526.58. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Roy D. Baynes sold 7,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.08, for a total transaction of $1,710,577.44. Following the sale, the director owned 18,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,525.72. The trade was a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 308,366 shares of company stock valued at $63,050,068. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.