Erste Asset Management GmbH Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 14,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,244,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,481 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Natera by 3.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $315,194,000 after buying an additional 85,236 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $265,747,000 after acquiring an additional 143,825 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,119,000 after acquiring an additional 269,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 1,140,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $144,734,000 after acquiring an additional 245,505 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays began coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Natera Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of Natera stock opened at $148.22 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.13 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $164.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.21. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of -84.22 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares in the company, valued at $27,739,941.88. This represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at $44,150,756.13. This trade represents a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 298,946 shares of company stock worth $47,803,462 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.