AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 257.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 469,327 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $70,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Natera by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,205 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 50.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 9.6% in the second quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 3,235 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Natera during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $125.72 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $115.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.51. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.90 and a 12 month 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 capitalization of $15.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.29 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.97) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 58.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total value of $344,439.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 284,741 shares in the company, valued at $36,324,409.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total value of $344,439.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 284,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,324,409.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,921 shares of company stock worth $10,551,281 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.