Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 1,415,285 Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,415,285 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $224,040,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.07% of Natera as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Natera by 205.4% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $146,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PointState Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 112.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $140.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,583,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,370,306. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $83.13 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -79.91 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) 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 company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % 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 worth $48,940,883. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NTRA. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.12.

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.