Nuveen Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 583,119 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,855 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.44% of Natera worth $92,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 372.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 343 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.55, for a total value of $49,923.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,843,490.30. This represents a 0.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.61, for a total transaction of $606,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,223.44. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,436 shares of company stock worth $22,019,079. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.12.

Natera Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Natera stock traded up $2.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $153.15. The stock had a trading volume of 327,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,441. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.14 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $149.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.11. The stock has a market cap of $20.91 billion, a PE ratio of -87.01 and a beta of 1.79.

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, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.56) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.