Blair William & Co. IL Acquires New Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,691 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Natera by 7.7% during the fourth 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. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 43.7% during 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 increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 205.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $355,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,481 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Natera by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $265,747,000 after acquiring an additional 143,825 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Natera by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $144,958,000 after purchasing an additional 328,375 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, 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 value of $12,958,888.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. This trade represents a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 43,502 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.88, for a total transaction of $7,694,633.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,629 shares in the company, valued at $12,492,857.52. This trade represents a 38.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 325,922 shares of company stock valued at $51,603,664. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock traded up $19.74 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $151.97. 2,969,764 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,390,234. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.13 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The company has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -86.35 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $153.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.75.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.