Black Swift Group LLC Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Black Swift Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 7,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,219,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised 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 worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 1.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in Natera by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Natera by 104.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 4,858 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.59, for a total transaction of $809,294.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,143,190.08. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the sale, the insider now owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,299 shares of company stock valued at $34,948,265 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $147.92 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.05 and a beta of 1.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.62. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.13 and a 1 year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share 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.