Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Buys 531 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Natera were worth $889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NTRA. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Natera during the second quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Natera by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Tobam bought a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Natera in the 1st quarter valued at $83,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $589,799.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 191,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,927,655.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total value of $589,799.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 191,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,927,655.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 496 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.09, for a total value of $59,068.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,850,054.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,458 shares of company stock worth $5,924,920. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $118.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.90 and a 12-month high of $133.54. The company has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.03 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.03.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $343.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.97) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 58.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.44.

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.