Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires 799 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 17.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,368 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $491,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in Natera by 6.6% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 7,235 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new position in Natera during the first quarter valued at about $251,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Natera by 674.0% during the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 47,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,000 after acquiring an additional 40,928 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Natera by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,971,895 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $687,280,000 after acquiring an additional 588,147 shares during the period. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its stake in Natera by 289.7% during the fourth quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 850,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,258,000 after acquiring an additional 632,047 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Natera from $123.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Natera from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Natera in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $142.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Natera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $2,468,949.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 321,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,685,736.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $127,630.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,543,232.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $2,468,949.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 321,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,685,736.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 184,665 shares of company stock valued at $17,732,033. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $108.29 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $104.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.63. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.90 and a 52-week high of $117.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a current ratio of 4.12. The company has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.71 and a beta of 1.52.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by $0.16. Natera had a negative return on equity of 49.72% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The firm had revenue of $367.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.23) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -2.43 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.