Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys New Stake in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 56,163 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $7,942,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 117.8% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 114.8% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock traded up $4.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $173.81. The company had a trading volume of 697,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,473,024. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.98. The company has a market cap of $23.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -91.00 and a beta of 1.68. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.27 and a twelve month high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $546.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 22.22% and a negative net margin of 12.89%.The firm's revenue was up 32.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.30) EPS. Natera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.99, for a total value of $459,222.50. Following the sale, the director owned 6,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,444.85. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.62, for a total transaction of $499,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 120,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,137,526.58. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,423 shares of company stock valued at $8,459,656. 5.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 price objective on shares of Natera and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $194.00.

About Natera

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.