Captrust Financial Advisors Has $1.23 Million Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,737 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in Natera were worth $1,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 104.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems boosted its stake in Natera by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 6,200 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $981,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NTRA traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $153.06. 417,166 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,603,265. The stock's 50-day moving average is $148.71 and its 200-day moving average is $156.96. The company has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -86.97 and a beta of 1.79. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.14 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.56) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NTRA. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.12.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.61, for a total transaction of $606,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,223.44. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total value of $859,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 143,768 shares in the company, valued at $20,600,516.72. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by 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.