First Turn Management LLC Buys New Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

First Turn Management LLC purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 155,650 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $19,760,000. Natera comprises about 3.1% of First Turn Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. First Turn Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Natera at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,810,000 after purchasing an additional 9,781 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,044,743 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,010,152,000 after acquiring an additional 72,848 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter worth about $220,000. Natixis bought a new position in shares of Natera in the first quarter worth approximately $758,000. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in Natera in the first quarter valued at $14,498,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Trading Up 5.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $8.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $162.10. 2,109,908 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,344,020. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $128.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.64. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.31 and a fifty-two week high of $167.79. The stock has a market cap of $21.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -92.10 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera's quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $350,668.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,262.58. This trade represents a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at $25,141,737.28. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,821 shares of company stock valued at $4,776,878 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.