Narwhal Capital Management Buys 3,494 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Narwhal Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 53.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,993 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,494 shares during the quarter. Narwhal Capital Management's holdings in Natera were worth $1,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 2.0% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,652 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 1.5% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,417 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,812 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of Natera stock traded up $1.50 on Tuesday, reaching $171.87. 935,378 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,407,897. The company has a market capitalization of $23.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -116.92 and a beta of 1.74. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.14 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $157.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.54.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 18.29% and a negative net margin of 10.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.56) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 9,563 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 $1,323,614.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,541 shares in the company, valued at $29,417,799.81. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.48, for a total value of $421,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 141,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,917,535.36. This represents a 2.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,755 shares of company stock worth $8,898,589 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler upped 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 report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $184.63.

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.