Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,231 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,892 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Natera were worth $4,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.1% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,353 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Natera by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at about $270,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 29.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 671,382 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 153,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 4.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 315,543 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $40,058,000 after buying an additional 12,815 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total value of $590,760.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,433,183.76. This represents a 29.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total transaction of $859,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 143,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,600,516.72. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 298,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,803,462 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Natera stock traded down $2.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $146.28. 1,082,799 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,341,487. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $163.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.11 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.13 and a 1 year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Natera from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.12.

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.