Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. Buys 53,292 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 477,876 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 53,292 shares during the period. Natera accounts for 2.6% of Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. owned approximately 0.36% of Natera worth $75,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Natera by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Natera by 134.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871,862 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Natera by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,681 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $355,809,000 after purchasing an additional 142,201 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.61, for a total value of $606,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,223.44. The trade was a 29.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 2,206 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.18, for a total transaction of $335,709.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,195,630.40. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on NTRA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Natera from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.82.

Natera Stock Down 7.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $150.99 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $147.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.39. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.14 and a 12-month high of $183.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.79 and a beta of 1.79.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $446.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.56) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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