Jennison Associates LLC Has $98 Million Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 771,962 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 15,710 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.62% of Natera worth $98,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Natera by 1,073.1% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,730 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,118,000 after purchasing an additional 60,127 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,243,000 after acquiring an additional 11,362 shares in the last quarter. Natixis bought a new position in Natera during the first quarter worth $758,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new position in Natera in the second quarter worth $478,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the first quarter valued at $707,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total value of $141,379.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,695 shares in the company, valued at $13,085,255.95. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,821 shares of company stock worth $4,776,878 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $170.13 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.62 and a 1 year high of $170.13. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $129.84 and its 200-day moving average is $117.00.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Natera's revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.59.

About Natera

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.