Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 132,273 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 68.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 325,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 132,273 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Natera were worth $51,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $483,034,000 after buying an additional 532,874 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 205.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,481 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Natera by 3.6% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 85,236 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Natera by 7.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC increased its stake in Natera by 2.4% in the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $213,860,000 after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $170.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a PE ratio of -96.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $162.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.52. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.80 and a 1 year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.95) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total transaction of $73,422.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,014 shares in the company, valued at $8,937,930.64. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,709 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total value of $206,378.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 194,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,501,707.40. This trade represents a 0.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 123,409 shares of company stock valued at $20,045,631. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRA. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.00.

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.