Aquatic Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 343.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,924 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,724 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Natera were worth $5,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Natera by 20.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 998 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded up $1.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $154.89. 931,651 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,379,531. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.01 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The company has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.01 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.88.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NTRA. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised Natera from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 13,685 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total transaction of $2,269,930.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 253,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,121,691.28. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 5,201 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total transaction of $862,689.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 135,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,472,565.21. The trade was a 3.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 197,301 shares of company stock valued at $30,325,031 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.