KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Boosts Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 83.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,600 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,800 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Natera were worth $6,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $1,949,697,000 after acquiring an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Natera by 134.9% during the fourth 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Natera by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Natera by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $512,898,000 after acquiring an additional 439,778 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,681 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $355,809,000 after acquiring an additional 142,201 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $138.73. The company had a trading volume of 303,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,488,898. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $158.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.85. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.14 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The company has a market capitalization of $18.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.26 and a beta of 1.73.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 10.36% and a negative return on equity of 18.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.56) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 291 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.29, for a total transaction of $40,533.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 128,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,866,031.85. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,622 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.29, for a total transaction of $225,928.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 175,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,444,280.68. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,844 shares of company stock valued at $7,488,466 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $183.76.

Natera Company 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.