Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 37.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,600 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.11% of Natera worth $20,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,949,697,000 after purchasing an additional 879,463 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 134.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,681 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,809,000 after purchasing an additional 142,201 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $166.76 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $153.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.62. 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 capitalization of $22.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.75 and a beta of 1.74. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.14 and a 52-week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $446.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.56) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total transaction of $657,760.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,704 shares in the company, valued at $937,965.76. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total value of $354,606.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,457,844.37. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,275 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,783. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on NTRA. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.63.

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.