AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 945,511 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 169,148 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.72% of Natera worth $149,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Natera by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,949,697,000 after purchasing an additional 879,463 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position 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 buying an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,060,836,000 after buying an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Natera by 15.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 439,778 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 142,201 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,886 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.60, for a total value of $333,067.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 101,811 shares in the company, valued at $17,979,822.60. The trade was a 1.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,664 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.55, for a total transaction of $242,195.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 198,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,872,025.75. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 174,080 shares of company stock worth $26,473,363 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Natera stock opened at $154.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.01 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $147.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.01 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.76.

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.

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