Covestor Ltd Raises Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 34.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Natera were worth $47,000 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 business. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares in the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 295.9% in the 1st quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 656,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $60,063,000 after purchasing an additional 490,822 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 257.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,553,000 after purchasing an additional 469,327 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Natera by 53.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,783,000 after purchasing an additional 334,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Natera by 311.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 406,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $44,036,000 after acquiring an additional 307,920 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,141,737.28. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at $3,073,262.58. The trade was a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,821 shares of company stock valued at $4,776,878 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $146.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.28 billion, a PE ratio of -82.99 and a beta of 1.53. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.01 and a 12 month high of $167.79. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.46.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.65.

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.