Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $20.18 Million Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 37.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,700 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,600 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.11% of Natera worth $20,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 1,328.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,788,000. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Natera by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 119,673 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $18,944,000 after acquiring an additional 17,748 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total transaction of $657,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $937,965.76. This represents a 41.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.04, for a total value of $149,837.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 144,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,143,963.28. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,275 shares of company stock worth $10,142,783 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on NTRA. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.63.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA traded up $0.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $165.34. The stock had a trading volume of 729,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,408,499. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -93.94 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.14 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $154.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.59.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.56) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal 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.