E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Increases Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 105.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 5,113 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Natera were worth $1,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 20.1% during the second quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 9,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 1,552 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,359,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 8.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 216,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $23,445,000 after purchasing an additional 16,317 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 35.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 264,801 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,680,000 after purchasing an additional 69,523 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 6.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $259,634,000 after purchasing an additional 148,917 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $127.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.14 and a quick ratio of 4.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $113.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.89. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.90 and a 1 year high of $132.01. The company has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.74 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.39. Natera had a negative return on equity of 36.74% and a negative net margin of 21.47%. The firm had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $343.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.97) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total value of $4,053,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,063,243.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.65, for a total value of $185,946.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,170,315.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total transaction of $4,053,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,351 shares in the company, valued at $23,063,243.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 86,197 shares of company stock valued at $9,561,358. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.07.

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.