Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Position Lifted by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 8.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 16,317 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Natera worth $23,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 1,073.1% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,118,000 after acquiring an additional 60,127 shares in the last quarter. Thematics Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 90,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,652,000 after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 65,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,076,000 after buying an additional 8,997 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,810,000 after buying an additional 9,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 289.7% in the fourth quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 850,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,258,000 after buying an additional 632,047 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total value of $4,053,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,063,243.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Natera news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total value of $293,949.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 301,808 shares in the company, valued at $32,857,836.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,063,243.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,921 shares of company stock valued at $10,551,281. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.07.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $127.78 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.31. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.90 and a fifty-two week high of $132.01. 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 company has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a PE ratio of -40.96 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.00 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.97) earnings per share. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 58.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 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.