Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Invests $297,000 in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,878 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Natera by 205.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Natera by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $315,194,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $265,747,000 after purchasing an additional 143,825 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in Natera by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $170,119,000 after purchasing an additional 269,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,229,558 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $156,092,000 after purchasing an additional 246,246 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Trading Down 1.3 %

Natera stock traded down $2.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $172.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 857,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,767. The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.66 and a 200-day moving average of $140.49. The stock has a market cap of $22.82 billion, a PE ratio of -98.19 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $67.33 and a one year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. The business's revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com cut Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $165.88.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total transaction of $692,226.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 185,034 shares in the company, valued at $27,090,827.94. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the sale, the insider now owns 156,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 312,394 shares of company stock valued at $52,333,520. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.