Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 67.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,626 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 17,496 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Natera were worth $7,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRA. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Natera by 345.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 372.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Natera Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded down $4.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $133.87. The stock had a trading volume of 3,247,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,377,854. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $156.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.40. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.13 and a 1 year high of $183.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm has a market cap of $18.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.06 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 946 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.98, for a total value of $162,693.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 109,474 shares in the company, valued at $18,827,338.52. This trade represents a 0.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,160,963.60. This trade represents a 30.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 325,922 shares of company stock worth $51,603,664. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NTRA. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.12.

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.