Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Purchased by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 283,441 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,016 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.21% of Natera worth $44,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings 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 worth $1,067,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 worth $1,060,836,000 after buying an additional 2,036,396 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $146,419,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Natera by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,949,697,000 after purchasing an additional 879,463 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total transaction of $859,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 143,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,600,516.72. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $12,514,804.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Stock Down 0.8%

Natera stock traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $150.14. 396,089 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,384,648. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.14 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The company has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.16 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $148.12 and a 200-day moving average of $156.12.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.68 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.56) earnings per share. Natera's revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.12.

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.