Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $128.07 Million Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Natera, Inc. by 4.4%, acquiring an additional 38,180 shares, bringing its total holdings to 905,676 shares worth $128 million.
• Insiders at Natera have sold a total of 60,239 shares valued at approximately $8.99 million over the last quarter, with 5.63% of the company's stock currently held by insiders.
• Natera's stock recently opened at $157.04, and the company reported a revenue of $546.60 million for the latest quarter, which surpassed analysts' expectations, despite a loss per share of ($0.74).

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 905,676 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,180 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of Natera worth $128,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 117.8% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 114.8% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $183.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Natera from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.19.

Natera Stock Up 2.9%

NTRA stock traded up $4.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $163.02. 1,502,326 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,693,905. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.57 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $155.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.75. The firm has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a PE ratio of -85.35 and a beta of 1.76.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative return on equity of 22.22% and a negative net margin of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.30) EPS. The company's revenue was up 32.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,111 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.10, for a total value of $960,038.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 179,071 shares in the company, valued at $28,132,054.10. This represents a 3.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,299 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total value of $719,480.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,358,628.48. This trade represents a 34.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,792 shares of company stock worth $9,227,972. Insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

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.