Donoghue Forlines LLC Acquires Shares of 12,783 Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,783 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,493,000 after buying an additional 1,883,481 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Natera by 3.6% in the third 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 lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $265,747,000 after acquiring an additional 143,825 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 2.4% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in Natera by 25.2% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $170.95 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $165.35 and its 200 day moving average is $135.41. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.96 and a 1-year high of $183.00. 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 company has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -96.97 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays assumed coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 691 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.81, for a total transaction of $82,097.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,638,556.29. This trade represents a 0.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 224,824 shares of company stock valued at $36,912,749. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Natera

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.