Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Acquires 155,547 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in Natera, Inc. by 29.0% in Q1, owning approximately 691,341 shares worth around $97.76 million.
• Natera reported earnings of ($0.50) per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $501.83 million, up 36.5% year-over-year.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $183.76 for Natera, with a mix of buy and sell ratings from various research firms.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 29.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 691,341 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 155,547 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.51% of Natera worth $97,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Natera during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 117.8% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Natera in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in Natera by 114.8% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays upped their price target 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 downgraded shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $183.76.

Natera Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NTRA traded down $1.99 on Wednesday, hitting $138.13. 2,241,789 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,350,506. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -93.97 and a beta of 1.76. The stock's 50 day moving average is $156.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.43. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.22 and a 1 year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.68 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.56) EPS. The business's revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.07, for a total value of $471,210.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 133,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,922,509.35. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total transaction of $418,383.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 65,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,990,082. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,239 shares of company stock valued at $8,986,542. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.