Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Purchases New Shares in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,319 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,243,000 after acquiring an additional 11,362 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 86,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,936,000 after purchasing an additional 18,316 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,622 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 4,575 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 175,590 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,291,000 after purchasing an additional 14,159 shares during the period. Finally, First Turn Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $19,760,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $166.55 on Monday. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.22 and a twelve month high of $175.63. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.63 and a beta of 1.63.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 256 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total value of $30,737.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,891 shares in the company, valued at $13,434,752.37. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,073,262.58. This represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 132,963 shares of company stock valued at $21,250,107. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on NTRA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Leerink Partners increased their price target on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.67.

About Natera

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.