Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Boosts Stock Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 549,871 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,129 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Natera worth $87,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Natera by 205.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $355,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 112.0% during the third quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $99,343,000 after purchasing an additional 413,468 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 42.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $144,958,000 after buying an additional 328,375 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 687,703 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $87,304,000 after buying an additional 272,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in Natera by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $170,119,000 after buying an additional 269,706 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.88.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total transaction of $14,793,433.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares in the company, valued at $207,135,977.44. This trade represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 4,858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.59, for a total transaction of $809,294.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 114,912 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,143,190.08. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 295,772 shares of company stock valued at $49,741,699 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock traded down $4.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $169.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,175,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,092. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $68.03 and a one year high of $183.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -96.24 and a beta of 1.66. The firm's 50 day moving average is $167.86 and its 200 day moving average is $143.93.

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.