Royal Fund Management LLC Grows Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Royal Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 85.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $2,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Natera in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Natera by 50.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Tobam acquired a new stake in Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Natera news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.68, for a total value of $333,755.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,017,481.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,738 shares of company stock valued at $6,040,584 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NTRA stock traded down $0.50 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $131.43. 26,978 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,347,346. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.90 and a 52-week high of $133.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.29 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $119.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.14 and a quick ratio of 4.01.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.39. The company had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $343.00 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 36.74% and a negative net margin of 21.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.97) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRA. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.07.

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.