Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Position Increased by Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 55.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,331 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC's holdings in Natera were worth $1,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,067,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Natera by 43.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $146,419,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 7.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NTRA. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.12.

Natera Trading Down 0.2%

NTRA traded down $0.25 on Wednesday, reaching $156.92. 308,279 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,387,182. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $92.14 and a one year high of $183.00. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $21.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.09 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.04.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.56) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,980 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.10, for a total value of $1,047,698.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 185,182 shares in the company, valued at $27,795,818.20. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 2,206 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.18, for a total value of $335,709.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,195,630.40. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,436 shares of company stock worth $22,019,079 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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.