Semanteon Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Semanteon Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,840 shares during the period. Semanteon Capital Management LP’s holdings in Natera were worth $1,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in Natera by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its stake in Natera by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 998 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NTRA opened at $149.63 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $161.71 and a 200 day moving average of $149.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.02 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. On average, research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total transaction of $106,772.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 114,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 307,466 shares of company stock worth $49,047,655. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

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.