Hood River Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,648 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,260 shares during the quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC's holdings in Natera were worth $6,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Natera by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Natera by 134.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,067,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Natera by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $512,898,000 after buying an additional 439,778 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,681 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $355,809,000 after buying an additional 142,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $153.79. The stock had a trading volume of 806,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,185. The firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.38 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.88 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $147.95 and a 200 day moving average of $153.52. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Equities analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.76.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,442 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.87, for a total value of $233,416.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,487,139.84. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 13,685 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,121,691.28. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 198,743 shares of company stock valued at $30,558,447. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.