QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its position in Natera by 168.9% in Q4 to 12,507 shares, worth $2.865 million, and the stock is overwhelmingly institution-held with about 99.90% ownership by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Natera's latest quarter showed a revenue beat of $696.64M (up 38.8% YoY) but an EPS miss of ($0.60) versus ($0.53) expected, leaving the company unprofitable with negative net margin and ROE.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $253.47, while several brokers adjusted targets recently (e.g., Morgan Stanley cut to $250 and Robert W. Baird raised to $257).

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 168.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,507 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 7,855 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Natera were worth $2,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 9.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,871,914,000 after buying an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Natera by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $545,624,000 after buying an additional 72,087 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 37.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $428,987,000 after buying an additional 727,366 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 1.7% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,451,779 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $394,663,000 after buying an additional 41,303 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $386,338,000 after buying an additional 673,315 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on NTRA. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.47.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total value of $101,456.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,102,333.04. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $185,956.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,896,580.72. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 38,266 shares of company stock valued at $7,747,808 over the last ninety days. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Trading Up 2.2%

NTRA stock opened at $219.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -143.67 and a beta of 1.57. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $131.81 and a twelve month high of $256.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.02.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $696.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $617.10 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. Natera's revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.50) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Natera

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NTRA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.