Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Boosts Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,812 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 98 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Natera by 20.7% during 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 during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its position in Natera by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its position in Natera by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Natera by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, 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 owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,160,963.60. This represents a 30.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 2,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.18, for a total value of $335,709.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 139,280 shares in the company, valued at $21,195,630.40. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.12.

Natera Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NTRA opened at $154.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -87.80 and a beta of 1.79. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $92.14 and a one year high of $183.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $149.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.15.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.56) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natera Profile

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.