SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 18,282 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,894,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 148.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 345.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Natera by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,886 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.60, for a total transaction of $333,067.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 101,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,979,822.60. This trade represents a 1.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 263,894 shares of company stock worth $43,801,978. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.88.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $176.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.74 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $166.89 and its 200-day moving average is $138.14.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 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.