Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Acquired by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 68,066 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 3,897 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Natera were worth $4,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Natera by 115.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,654,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $73,203,000 after acquiring an additional 887,409 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Natera by 52.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,529,496 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $111,930,000 after buying an additional 865,404 shares in the last quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP lifted its stake in Natera by 107.7% during the third quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP now owns 899,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,781,000 after buying an additional 466,100 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Natera by 291.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 423,080 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,502,000 after buying an additional 314,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $13,330,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.22, for a total transaction of $40,328.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 347,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,372,290.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,816 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.13, for a total transaction of $634,774.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 227,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,206,632.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 447 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.22, for a total value of $40,328.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 347,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,372,290.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 455,349 shares of company stock worth $36,747,623 over the last three months. 9.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Natera Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $91.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.18 and a beta of 1.37. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $36.90 and a one year high of $98.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 3.96.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $311.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.38 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 62.19% and a negative net margin of 40.16%. Analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NTRA. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Natera from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $117.00 price target for the company. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Natera from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.40.

Natera Company 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.