AGF Management Ltd. Buys 7,410 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Key Points

• AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in Natera, Inc. by 6.4%, acquiring an additional 7,410 shares to reach a total of 123,501 shares, valued at approximately $17.46 million.
• Several analysts have issued mixed ratings on Natera, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $193.87 despite one downgrade to a "sell" rating.
• Natera reported a quarterly earnings miss, with an EPS of ($0.74), though revenue grew by 32.2% year-over-year, amounting to $546.60 million.

AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,501 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,410 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Natera worth $17,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Natera by 30.8% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,986 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Natera by 9.8% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,293 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 32.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 848 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at about $6,753,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI raised Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $193.19.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,807 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.88, for a total transaction of $771,634.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 163,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,738,237.84. The trade was a 3.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total transaction of $418,383.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 65,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,990,082. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 61,792 shares of company stock worth $9,227,972. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Natera Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of Natera stock traded up $4.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $163.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,502,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,693,905. The company has a market capitalization of $22.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.35 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.75. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.57 and a 1-year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $546.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 22.22%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.30) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.