Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 39.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,578 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 2,713 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Natera were worth $1,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 134.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,067,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth $146,419,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total value of $354,606.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,457,844.37. The trade was a 3.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 9,563 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total transaction of $1,323,614.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,417,799.81. This represents a 4.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,275 shares of company stock worth $10,142,783 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.63.

Natera Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Natera stock traded up $0.99 on Friday, hitting $165.34. The company had a trading volume of 729,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,410,918. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.14 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $154.56 and a 200-day moving average of $158.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -93.94 and a beta of 1.74.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera's quarterly revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.56) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.