The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 31,649 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 87.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,906 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 31,649 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.05% of Natera worth $8,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Natera in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Natera by 148.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Natera by 34.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam bought a new position in Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $169.17 on Wednesday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.56 and a 12-month high of $171.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $137.36 and its 200-day moving average is $121.28. The company has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a PE ratio of -96.12 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 9,682 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.98, for a total value of $1,548,926.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,552,445.92. This trade represents a 49.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total transaction of $344,439.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 284,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,324,409.37. The trade was a 0.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.