Arizona State Retirement System Buys 772 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 2.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,141 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 772 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Natera were worth $3,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 1,073.1% in the second 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 period. Thematics Asset Management lifted its stake in Natera by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 90,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,652,000 after buying an additional 2,738 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 65,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,076,000 after buying an additional 8,997 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Natera by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,810,000 after buying an additional 9,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 6,007.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,329 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 7,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Up 4.2 %

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $117.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.78. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $36.90 and a one year high of $124.83. The company has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.71 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.14.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.39. Natera had a negative return on equity of 36.74% and a negative net margin of 21.47%. The company had revenue of $413.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.97) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Natera from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.07.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,583 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.91, for a total transaction of $663,874.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 200,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,866,426.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.91, for a total transaction of $663,874.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 200,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,866,426.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.40, for a total transaction of $53,592.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,314,693.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,388 shares of company stock worth $10,205,064. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.