Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $16.11 Million in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 101,787 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,113,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.08% of Natera as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares during the period. PointState Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 112.0% during the third quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $99,343,000 after purchasing an additional 413,468 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Natera by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $144,958,000 after buying an additional 328,375 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Natera by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 687,703 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $87,304,000 after buying an additional 272,361 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in Natera by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,119,000 after buying an additional 269,706 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at $18,217,063.20. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 295,772 shares of company stock valued at $49,741,699. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NTRA opened at $155.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The stock has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.40 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.95.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) 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 return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.69.

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.