Montag A & Associates Inc. Acquires 331 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 190.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 505 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Natera by 223.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 301 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 549,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,045,000 after purchasing an additional 69,129 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Natera by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 119,673 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $18,944,000 after acquiring an additional 17,748 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total transaction of $14,793,433.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares in the company, valued at $207,135,977.44. This represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 295,772 shares of company stock valued at $49,741,699. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NTRA. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays began coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.88.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $173.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.89 billion, a PE ratio of -98.52 and a beta of 1.66. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.03 and a 12 month high of $183.00. 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 moving average price of $167.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.93.

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.