Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 168.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,507 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,855 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $2,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 9.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,871,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 37.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $428,987,000 after purchasing an additional 727,366 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 215.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,942 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $84,983,000 after purchasing an additional 360,733 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 5,965.1% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 343,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $78,754,000 after purchasing an additional 338,100 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total value of $693,564.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 142,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total value of $101,456.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,102,333.04. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 38,266 shares of company stock worth $7,747,808 in the last ninety days. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. William Blair assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.47.

Natera Stock Performance

Natera stock opened at $219.82 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $131.81 and a one year high of $256.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $202.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.02. The company has a market cap of $31.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -143.67 and a beta of 1.57.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.07). Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. The business had revenue of $696.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $617.10 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.50) EPS. Natera’s revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.71 EPS for the current year.

Natera Company Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.