Driehaus Capital Management LLC Buys 155,802 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,220,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 155,802 shares during the quarter. Natera accounts for 1.3% of Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned about 0.99% of Natera worth $132,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,205 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Natera by 50.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 9.6% in the second quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 3,235 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $125.72 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.90 and a twelve month high of $132.01. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $15.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.29 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $115.98 and its 200-day moving average is $106.51.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.00 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 36.74% and a negative net margin of 21.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.97) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. BTIG Research raised their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,141,737.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,141,737.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 4,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.37, for a total transaction of $540,007.71. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,059 shares in the company, valued at $8,134,143.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,921 shares of company stock worth $10,551,281. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera 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.