Swedbank AB Has $4.80 Million Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Swedbank AB raised its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 51.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,326 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,326 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB's holdings in Natera were worth $4,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. bought a new position in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at $317,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Natera by 753.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 27,551 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,361,000 after buying an additional 24,324 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Natera by 104.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Narwhal Capital Management acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $1,029,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $174,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.88.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA traded up $2.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $177.00. 930,196 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,378,034. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a PE ratio of -100.57 and a beta of 1.66. The company's 50-day moving average is $167.43 and its 200 day moving average is $139.78. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total transaction of $692,226.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 185,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,090,827.94. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total value of $14,793,433.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares in the company, valued at $207,135,977.44. This represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 311,731 shares of company stock worth $52,215,659. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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.