Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 29.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 671,382 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 153,441 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.54% of Natera worth $85,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 1,073.1% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,730 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,118,000 after purchasing an additional 60,127 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Natera by 15.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,810,000 after acquiring an additional 9,781 shares during the period. Natixis purchased a new stake in Natera during the first quarter worth $758,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,243,000 after acquiring an additional 11,362 shares during the period. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in Natera during the second quarter valued at about $478,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA traded down $5.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $146.06. 2,242,126 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,338,689. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $127.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.46. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.01 and a 12-month high of $167.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.39. The company has a market cap of $19.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.99 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Craig Hallum increased their price target on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,212 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $350,668.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,073,262.58. The trade was a 10.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total transaction of $344,439.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 284,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,324,409.37. The trade was a 0.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,093 shares of company stock valued at $4,084,651 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.