Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Position Raised by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 179.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 251,883 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 161,672 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.19% of Natera worth $35,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 9.8% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,293 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 32.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 848 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,753,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 1.5% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,417 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,980 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 185,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,795,818.20. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,299 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total transaction of $719,480.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,358,628.48. This trade represents a 34.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 57,351 shares of company stock valued at $8,946,833. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler boosted 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. UBS Group boosted 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, Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $184.63.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of Natera stock traded up $3.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $141.07. 1,421,449 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,212,550. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.14 and a 1 year high of $183.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $159.24 and its 200 day moving average is $157.55. The firm has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a PE ratio of -95.97 and a beta of 1.73.

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

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.