Maven Securities LTD Makes New $348,000 Investment in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Maven Securities LTD bought a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,200 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Natera by 134.9% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 3,871,862 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Natera by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after buying an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Natera by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $512,898,000 after buying an additional 439,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $355,809,000 after buying an additional 142,201 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $3.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $152.59. 911,043 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,386,529. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.14 and a 1 year high of $183.00. The company has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -86.70 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.51.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NTRA. UBS Group upped their target price on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.12.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. This trade represents a 30.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total value of $354,606.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,557 shares in the company, valued at $10,457,844.37. The trade was a 3.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,436 shares of company stock worth $22,019,079 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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.