Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 73,003 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 423,204 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 73,003 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.31% of Natera worth $59,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NTRA. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Natera by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,959 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter worth $1,187,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 25,778 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,645,000 after buying an additional 3,077 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Natera by 6.2% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,209 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 38.6% in the first quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 1,525 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,299 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total value 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. The trade was a 34.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,980 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.10, for a total transaction of $1,047,698.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 53,272 shares of company stock valued at $8,345,368. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $184.63.

Natera Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded down $4.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $138.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,384,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,415,107. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.14 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $160.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.02. The stock has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.49 and a beta of 1.73.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 18.29% and a negative net margin of 10.36%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.56) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.