Precision Wealth Strategies LLC Buys Shares of 5,675 Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Precision Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,675 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $803,000. Natera makes up approximately 0.6% of Precision Wealth Strategies LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,458 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in Natera during the first quarter valued at approximately $505,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Natera by 32.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 430,768 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $60,915,000 after purchasing an additional 105,613 shares in the last quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC now owns 20,061 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 142,700 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $20,179,000 after buying an additional 38,600 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $184.63.

Natera Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $2.91 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $168.25. 1,153,528 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,409,888. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.46. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.14 and a 12-month high of $183.00. The stock has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.60 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.56) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.