Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $6.92 Million Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 37.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,693 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 11,999 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Natera were worth $6,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Natera by 345.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 372.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Natera by 1,328.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. 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 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.12.

Natera Stock Down 1.0 %

NTRA stock traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $148.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 641,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,334,047. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.55. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $83.13 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The company has a market capitalization of $20.05 billion, a PE ratio of -84.26 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.91 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at $44,150,756.13. This represents a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 43,502 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.88, for a total value of $7,694,633.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,629 shares in the company, valued at $12,492,857.52. The trade was a 38.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 306,797 shares of company stock valued at $48,940,883. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Natera 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.