Harvest Investment Services LLC Purchases Shares of 3,848 Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Harvest Investment Services LLC acquired a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,848 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $609,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Natera by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth approximately $146,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Natera by 7.7% in the fourth 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 increased its stake in Natera by 15.7% in 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 buying an additional 439,778 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 946 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.98, for a total value of $162,693.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 109,474 shares in the company, valued at $18,827,338.52. This represents a 0.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total value of $590,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,433,183.76. The trade was a 29.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 198,584 shares of company stock worth $30,557,738. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $144.62 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.55 billion, a PE ratio of -82.17 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $87.20 and a one year high of $183.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $149.13 and a 200 day moving average of $153.04.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on NTRA shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Natera from $200.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.76.

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.

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