Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 15,167.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,481 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,432 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Natera were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 13.6% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 257.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $70,553,000 after buying an additional 469,327 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Natera by 53.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $103,783,000 after buying an additional 334,630 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Natera by 311.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 406,653 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $44,036,000 after acquiring an additional 307,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,145,362 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $124,031,000 after acquiring an additional 303,905 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock traded up $2.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $171.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 814,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,024. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.66 billion, a PE ratio of -97.53 and a beta of 1.63. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.56 and a fifty-two week high of $175.63. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $140.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.53. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $361.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.68, for a total transaction of $333,755.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,017,481.92. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. The trade was a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,976 shares of company stock valued at $21,119,238 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.59.

Natera Company 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.