Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Bought by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 160,441 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 8,359 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.12% of Natera worth $25,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 buying 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 buying 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 buying 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 buying 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 buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 2,206 shares of the business’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 directly owns 139,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,195,630.40. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total transaction of $354,606.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,557 shares in the company, valued at $10,457,844.37. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA opened at $153.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of -87.11 and a beta of 1.79. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.14 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $149.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.51. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.56) earnings per share. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natera Company 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.