Covestor Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 42.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 531 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Natera were worth $84,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,060,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,681 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,809,000 after purchasing an additional 142,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Natera by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,538,875 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,604,000 after purchasing an additional 439,540 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. This trade represents a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 325,922 shares of company stock worth $51,603,664 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $148.04 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $20.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.11 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.24. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $83.13 and a 12-month high of $183.00.

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

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.