The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 7,132 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 24.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,257 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 7,132 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Natera were worth $3,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 1,073.1% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,118,000 after purchasing an additional 60,127 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 15.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,810,000 after purchasing an additional 9,781 shares during the period. Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its stake in Natera by 289.7% in the 4th quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 850,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,258,000 after acquiring an additional 632,047 shares during the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new stake in Natera in the first quarter valued at approximately $758,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 863,406 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $78,967,000 after buying an additional 143,246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $128.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $118.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.34. The stock has a market cap of $15.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.09 and a beta of 1.53. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $36.90 and a one year high of $132.01.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $413.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.00 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 36.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.97) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. 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.com, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $99.65, for a total transaction of $185,946.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,955 shares in the company, valued at $7,170,315.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 71,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,170,315.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,496 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.66, for a total value of $613,683.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,209,089.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,738 shares of company stock worth $6,040,584 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera 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.