K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Purchases 4,000 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc grew its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 45.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,800 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc's holdings in Natera were worth $1,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NTRA. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Natera during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,753,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,417 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Stock Performance

Natera stock traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $161.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,082,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,802. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.14 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $159.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.06 billion, a PE ratio of -109.91 and a beta of 1.73.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 10.36% and a negative return on equity of 18.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.56) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.61, for a total transaction of $606,440.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,704 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,223.44. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.18, for a total value of $307,099.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 73,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,191,165.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,630 shares of company stock valued at $6,235,808 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $184.63.

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.