Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stake Increased by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 50.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 657 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Natera by 205.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Natera by 3.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,194,000 after acquiring an additional 85,236 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 7.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,747,000 after acquiring an additional 143,825 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 25.2% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,119,000 after acquiring an additional 269,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Natera by 27.4% in the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 1,140,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $144,734,000 after acquiring an additional 245,505 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on NTRA. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.56.

Natera Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $140.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $165.61 and its 200-day moving average is $147.70. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.13 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The company has a market cap of $19.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -79.92 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The business had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. Equities research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,160,963.60. This trade represents a 30.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 301,571 shares of company stock worth $48,322,810. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.