Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $51.47 Million Stock Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 68.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 325,155 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 132,273 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.25% of Natera worth $51,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Natera by 345.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Natera by 148.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Natera by 34.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 32.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 430 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Natera stock traded down $1.85 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $168.50. 906,591 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,255,639. The stock has a market cap of $22.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.74 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.52. 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 fifty-two week low of $62.96 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera's revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.95) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of Natera 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,135,977.44. This trade represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,709 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total value of $206,378.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,501,707.40. This trade represents a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 123,409 shares of company stock valued at $20,045,631. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NTRA. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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 research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.00.

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.