Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $11.48 Million Stock Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,835 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 9,424 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $11,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 95.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in Natera by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 310 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Natera by 256.8% in the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 314 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $196.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -128.20 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $211.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.05. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.38 and a twelve month high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research upped their price target on Natera from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total transaction of $9,016,424.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,552,392.42. This trade represents a 36.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 17,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total transaction of $4,179,780.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 177,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,687,711.34. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 318,344 shares of company stock worth $74,091,416 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

About Natera

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.