2,000 Shares in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Acquired by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 11,362 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $573,000. Finally, First Turn Management LLC bought a new position in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $19,760,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $167.61 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $22.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -95.23 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.07. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.96 and a 12 month high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The business’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,960 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $468,111.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,762 shares in the company, valued at $22,431,766.02. This trade represents a 2.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $141,379.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,695 shares in the company, valued at $13,085,255.95. The trade was a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 249,940 shares of company stock worth $41,094,664 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim raised their price target 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. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.94.

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.