Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,538,875 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 439,540 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $243,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter worth $573,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Natera by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 657 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 87.3% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 67,906 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,621,000 after acquiring an additional 31,649 shares during the period. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at $2,894,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Natera Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $140.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -79.91 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $158.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.35.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 87,272 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $12,514,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,160,963.60. The trade was a 30.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 25,931 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $4,277,837.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 109,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,091,435.05. The trade was a 19.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 318,922 shares of company stock worth $50,619,104. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.