Bellevue Group AG Raises Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,676 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,217 shares during the quarter. Bellevue Group AG owned about 0.11% of Natera worth $23,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $385,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter worth approximately $573,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Natera by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 657 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $2,894,000. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $256,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.76.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 43,502 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.88, for a total value of $7,694,633.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,629 shares in the company, valued at $12,492,857.52. This trade represents a 38.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.61, for a total transaction of $606,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,704 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,223.44. This trade represents a 29.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 196,601 shares of company stock valued at $29,831,575. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $156.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -89.01 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.14 and a 1 year high of $183.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $146.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

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

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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