Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $312,000 in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,982 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 20.7% in the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its position in Natera by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Natera by 104.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its position in Natera by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Down 3.5 %

NTRA stock opened at $133.87 on Monday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.57. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $83.13 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.10 billion, a PE ratio of -76.06 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. Equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the sale, the insider now owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. This represents a 30.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 325,922 shares of company stock worth $51,603,664. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

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.