HWG Holdings LP Buys 25,819 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

HWG Holdings LP grew its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 173.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,739 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 25,819 shares during the period. Natera accounts for about 2.1% of HWG Holdings LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. HWG Holdings LP's holdings in Natera were worth $6,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 657 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $2,894,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $256,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 753.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 27,551 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,361,000 after acquiring an additional 24,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $1.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $156.12. 2,767,726 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,404,603. The firm has a market cap of $21.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -88.70 and a beta of 1.79. 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 52-week low of $92.14 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $149.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.37.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company's revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.56) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,160,963.60. This represents a 30.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total value of $354,606.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,457,844.37. This represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,436 shares of company stock worth $22,019,079 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by 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.