Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Purchases 18,004 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 99.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,168 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 18,004 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Natera were worth $5,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 945,511 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $149,674,000 after acquiring an additional 169,148 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Natera by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 700,781 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $110,934,000 after purchasing an additional 163,739 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Natera by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 69,604 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $11,018,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 3,870 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in Natera by 343.4% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 31,924 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 24,724 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total transaction of $859,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 143,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,600,516.72. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 153,099 shares of company stock valued at $22,136,941 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $4.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $159.87. The stock had a trading volume of 875,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,382,450. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. 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 $21.61 billion, a PE ratio of -90.84 and a beta of 1.79.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.76.

Natera Company Profile

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.