DAVENPORT & Co LLC Takes Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,032 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,215,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Natera by 95.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Natera during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hilltop National Bank increased its stake in Natera by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 310 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Natera by 256.8% in the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 314 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,623 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $1,147,822.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 156,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,968,186.91. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $186,778.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 150,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,799,542.66. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 318,344 shares of company stock worth $74,091,416. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Wall Street Zen raised Natera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.47.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $182.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -119.38 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.38 and a fifty-two week high of $256.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.15.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.41) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Natera Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.