Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 87.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,906 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,649 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.05% of Natera worth $8,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Natera by 90.7% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,774 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 3,697 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth $232,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth $505,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 27.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 86,144 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $10,936,000 after acquiring an additional 18,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Natera by 3.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $315,194,000 after acquiring an additional 85,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on NTRA. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com cut Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.59.

Natera Stock Up 2.9 %

Natera stock traded up $4.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $174.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,039,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,584. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.56 and a fifty-two week high of $174.15. 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 company has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -98.86 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.65.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total value of $14,793,433.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,135,977.44. The trade was a 6.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at $25,141,737.28. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,976 shares of company stock valued at $21,119,238 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by 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.