Caprock Group LLC Purchases New Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 205.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,481 shares during the period. PointState Capital LP boosted its position in Natera by 112.0% during the third quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $99,343,000 after purchasing an additional 413,468 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Natera by 42.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $144,958,000 after purchasing an additional 328,375 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 65.6% in the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 687,703 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $87,304,000 after buying an additional 272,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,119,000 after buying an additional 269,706 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $172.82 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.33 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The firm has a market cap of $22.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -98.19 and a beta of 1.66.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 4,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.59, for a total value of $809,294.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 114,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,143,190.08. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total transaction of $692,226.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 185,034 shares in the company, valued at $27,090,827.94. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 312,394 shares of company stock worth $52,333,520. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.88.

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.