Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $6.92 Million Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 37.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,693 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,999 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Natera were worth $6,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NTRA. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 205.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $146,419,000. PointState Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $99,343,000 after purchasing an additional 413,468 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $144,958,000 after purchasing an additional 328,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $170,119,000 after purchasing an additional 269,706 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on NTRA. Barclays began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $151.15 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.88 and a beta of 1.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $161.23 and its 200-day moving average is $150.01. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.13 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39.

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

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the sale, the insider now owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.04, for a total transaction of $149,837.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 144,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,143,963.28. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 306,797 shares of company stock valued at $48,940,883 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company 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.