Artemis Investment Management LLP Increases Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 54.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 198,778 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,751 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned approximately 0.15% of Natera worth $28,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Natera by 134.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,067,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth $146,419,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lifted 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $184.63.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $169.07. The stock had a trading volume of 828,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,295. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.14 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $158.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -115.01 and a beta of 1.74.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative return on equity of 18.29% and a negative net margin of 10.36%. The business had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.56) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,664 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 198,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,872,025.75. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total value of $657,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,704 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $937,965.76. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,630 shares of company stock valued at $7,220,368 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.