2,036 Shares in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Acquired by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,036 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,010,152,000 after purchasing an additional 72,848 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 13.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Natera by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $259,634,000 after purchasing an additional 148,917 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $213,860,000 after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,229,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $156,092,000 after purchasing an additional 246,246 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on NTRA. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.69.

Natera Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $130.39 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.61 and a 1-year high of $133.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $124.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.28. 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 cap of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.22 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.97) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 58.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 12,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $1,452,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 287,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,783,235.41. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,523 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $589,799.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 191,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,927,655.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 12,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total value of $1,452,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 287,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,783,235.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,164 shares of company stock valued at $6,157,291. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.