D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Acquires 303,905 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 36.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,145,362 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 303,905 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.93% of Natera worth $124,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 0.7% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Natera by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,582 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $259,634,000 after purchasing an additional 148,917 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 2.4% during the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $213,860,000 after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares during the period. Finally, Avidity Partners Management LP increased its holdings in Natera by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP now owns 1,110,000 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $69,530,000 after purchasing an additional 211,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.65, for a total transaction of $185,946.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 71,955 shares in the company, valued at $7,170,315.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.65, for a total value of $185,946.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,170,315.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel Rabinowitz sold 1,057 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.77, for a total transaction of $108,627.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 206,400 shares in the company, valued at $21,211,728. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 93,921 shares of company stock valued at $10,551,281. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NTRA. StockNews.com lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $142.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.07.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded down $2.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $122.46. 643,799 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,358,248. The company has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a PE ratio of -39.28 and a beta of 1.53. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.90 and a twelve month high of $132.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.14 and a quick ratio of 4.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.14.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.00 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 36.74% and a negative net margin of 21.47%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.97) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.