Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 15.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,227 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Natera were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NTRA. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Natera by 1,073.1% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,118,000 after purchasing an additional 60,127 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Natera by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,243,000 after acquiring an additional 11,362 shares during the period. Natixis purchased a new stake in Natera during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $758,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new stake in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $478,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $707,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total value of $141,379.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,085,255.95. The trade was a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at $25,141,737.28. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,821 shares of company stock valued at $4,776,878. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Up 5.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $162.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.64. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.31 and a 12-month high of $167.79. The company has a market capitalization of $21.40 billion, a PE ratio of -92.10 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NTRA. UBS Group decreased their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.59.

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.