Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 38,180 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 905,676 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,180 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of Natera worth $128,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 117.8% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 114.8% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.07, for a total value of $471,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 133,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,922,509.35. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $418,383.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 65,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,990,082. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,239 shares of company stock valued at $8,986,542 over the last quarter. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Stock Up 3.3%

Natera stock opened at $157.04 on Tuesday. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.57 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.78. The stock has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.22 and a beta of 1.76.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative return on equity of 22.93% and a negative net margin of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 32.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Natera to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Natera from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.87.

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.