Maven Securities LTD Invests $217,000 in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Maven Securities LTD acquired a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Natera by 148.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Natera by 50.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Natera in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Tobam acquired a new position in Natera during the second quarter worth about $74,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $131.11 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $116.82 and its 200 day moving average is $107.29. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $36.90 and a one year high of $132.01. The firm has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.02 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.14 and a quick ratio of 4.01.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research 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 report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Natera from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, insider Daniel Rabinowitz sold 1,057 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.77, for a total value of $108,627.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 206,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,211,728. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel Rabinowitz sold 1,057 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.77, for a total transaction of $108,627.89. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 206,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,211,728. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,738 shares of company stock valued at $5,663,574. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.