Everence Capital Management Inc. Makes New $573,000 Investment in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake 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 bought 3,620 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $573,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after buying an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 257.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,553,000 after acquiring an additional 469,327 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP increased its position in shares of Natera by 112.0% during the third quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $99,343,000 after acquiring an additional 413,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Natera by 53.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $103,783,000 after acquiring an additional 334,630 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $167.60 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $155.07 and a 200 day moving average of $129.99. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $22.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.23 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.53 and a 12 month high of $175.63.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.95) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,217,063.20. The trade was a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,932 shares of company stock valued at $20,635,430 in the last quarter. 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.