GW&K Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,450 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $6,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 720,160 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $45,111,000 after purchasing an additional 159,993 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 1,043.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 90,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,664,000 after acquiring an additional 82,514 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 101.2% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 145,996 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,058,000 after acquiring an additional 73,419 shares in the last quarter. Hamilton Lane Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $616,000. Finally, abrdn plc acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NTRA. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Natera from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Natera from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Natera from $123.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $117.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,779 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total value of $725,895.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 219,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,499,348.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel Rabinowitz sold 35,307 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.09, for a total value of $2,651,202.63. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 204,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,334,729.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,779 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total value of $725,895.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 219,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,499,348.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 323,628 shares of company stock valued at $29,214,503 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $108.51 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.23. The company has a quick ratio of 3.98, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $36.90 and a one year high of $110.09.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by $0.16. The company had revenue of $367.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.31 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 49.72% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. Natera’s revenue was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.23) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -2.44 EPS for the current year.

Natera Company 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.