4,500 Shares in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Acquired by Harbert Fund Advisors Inc.

Harbert Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $712,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,060,836,000 after buying an additional 2,036,396 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $146,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,949,697,000 after purchasing an additional 879,463 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Natera by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on Natera from $200.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.76.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA opened at $143.28 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $19.37 billion, a PE ratio of -81.41 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $153.18 and a 200-day moving average of $151.89. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.13 and a 52-week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,562 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total value of $354,606.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,457,844.37. The trade was a 3.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 9,563 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total value of $1,323,614.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,417,799.81. This represents a 4.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 325,922 shares of company stock worth $51,603,664 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.