Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 194,931 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 26.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 935,768 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 194,931 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.69% of Natera worth $132,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Natera by 117.8% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Natera during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 372.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $161.57. 1,082,878 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,421,802. The company has a market capitalization of $22.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.91 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.51. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $92.14 and a one year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 18.29% and a negative net margin of 10.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.56) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.18, for a total value of $307,099.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 73,539 shares in the company, valued at $11,191,165.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,980 shares of Natera 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 185,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,795,818.20. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,630 shares of company stock valued at $6,235,808 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on NTRA. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $184.63.

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.