Rockingstone Advisors LLC Purchases 3,735 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Rockingstone Advisors LLC raised its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 22.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,061 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,735 shares during the period. Rockingstone Advisors LLC's holdings in Natera were worth $2,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Natera by 2.0% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in Natera by 7.8% during the 4th 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, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Natera by 104.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock traded down $3.72 on Thursday, reaching $163.04. The stock had a trading volume of 496,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,404,382. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.14 and a 1 year high of $183.00. The stock has a market cap of $22.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.64 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.62.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $446.68 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.56) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 343 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.55, for a total transaction of $49,923.65. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,843,490.30. This represents a 0.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,702 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total transaction of $978,693.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,695,784.62. This represents a 3.19% 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 three months. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.