Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Grows Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 134.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 5.11% of Natera worth $1,067,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $728,000. Harvest Investment Services LLC purchased a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter worth $609,000. Eversept Partners LP grew its stake in Natera by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 876,766 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $138,792,000 after purchasing an additional 6,573 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Natera by 157.1% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,524 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 7,041 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Natera by 912.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,329 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,408 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NTRA. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Natera from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.76.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $152.71. The stock had a trading volume of 325,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,377,802. The stock's 50 day moving average is $147.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.87. 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 52 week low of $90.88 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The firm has a market cap of $20.64 billion, a PE ratio of -86.80 and a beta of 1.80.

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

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 5,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total transaction of $862,689.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 135,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,472,565.21. This trade represents a 3.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,886 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.60, for a total value of $333,067.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 101,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,979,822.60. This represents a 1.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 197,301 shares of company stock valued at $30,325,031 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.