Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 3,789 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 4,257.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,878 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,789 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp's holdings in Natera were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Natera by 205.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $355,493,000 after buying an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP lifted its stake in Natera by 112.0% in the third quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $99,343,000 after acquiring an additional 413,468 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Natera by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $144,958,000 after acquiring an additional 328,375 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in Natera by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $170,119,000 after purchasing an additional 269,706 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 1,140,090 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $144,734,000 after purchasing an additional 245,505 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 43,502 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $12,492,857.52. The trade was a 38.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 294,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,212,702 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $142.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,263,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,343,263. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The company has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -80.89 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.25.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.