Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Holdings Raised by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,538,875 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 439,540 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.17% of Natera worth $243,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Natera by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 67,906 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $8,621,000 after purchasing an additional 31,649 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Natera by 5.0% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,339 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,344,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Natera by 108.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,689 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 2,963 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 15,167.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,481 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $950,000 after acquiring an additional 7,432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

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Natera Trading Down 3.5 %

NTRA stock traded down $4.84 on Friday, hitting $133.87. 3,247,142 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,377,854. 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 $18.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.06 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.13 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $156.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.40.

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. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. This represents a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 24,861 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $4,101,319.17. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 140,684 shares in the company, valued at $23,208,639.48. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 325,922 shares of company stock worth $51,603,664. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera has an average 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.