ARK Investment Management LLC Has $140.53 Million Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 29.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 887,711 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200,008 shares during the period. Natera comprises approximately 1.2% of ARK Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. ARK Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.67% of Natera worth $140,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after buying an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Natera by 3.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $315,194,000 after buying an additional 85,236 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,747,000 after buying an additional 143,825 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in Natera by 25.2% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,119,000 after buying an additional 269,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP increased its holdings in Natera by 27.4% during the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 1,140,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $144,734,000 after buying an additional 245,505 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. This represents a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total transaction of $14,793,433.76. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,224,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,135,977.44. This represents a 6.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 295,772 shares of company stock valued at $49,741,699 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Trading Down 1.5 %

NTRA stock opened at $156.00 on Wednesday. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.71 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The company has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of -88.64 and a beta of 1.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NTRA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.94.

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.