Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC Invests $3.68 Million in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 26,027 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $3,680,000. Natera accounts for about 1.9% of Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 879,463 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,067,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,060,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,396 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Natera by 15.7% during the fourth 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 holdings in Natera by 6.8% during the fourth 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 owned by institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $158.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,057,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,420,924. The company has a market capitalization of $21.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -107.81 and a beta of 1.73. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.14 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.42.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The company 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%. Natera's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.56) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,343 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.53, for a total value of $889,769.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 173,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,930,923.84. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.77, for a total value of $500,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 130,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,714,287.85. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,272 shares of company stock worth $8,345,368 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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.