Retireful LLC Takes Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Retireful LLC purchased a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,361 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,060,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRA. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in Natera by 2.0% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,652 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 168.7% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,369 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 419.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Natera by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 153,402 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $21,693,000 after purchasing an additional 15,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 18,607.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 119,916 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $16,957,000 after purchasing an additional 119,275 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $184.63.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 9,563 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total transaction of $1,323,614.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,417,799.81. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total transaction of $590,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,433,183.76. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,275 shares of company stock valued at $10,075,783 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NTRA traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $163.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,016,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,404,745. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -93.05 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $151.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.66. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.14 and a 52-week 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.

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