Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 256 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,161 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 256 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 20.7% during 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 period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 1.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake 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 worth $470,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Natera by 7.8% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on NTRA. UBS Group raised their price objective on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.12.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $149.40 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.14 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.89 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.31.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.56) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,562 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total transaction of $354,606.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,457,844.37. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.61, for a total value of $606,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 152,436 shares of company stock worth $22,019,079 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.