Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 26.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,051 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 6,467 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $3,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,326,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Natera by 3.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,477 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Natera by 15.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,227 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Natera by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,464 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 4,267 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Natera by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 315,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,058,000 after buying an additional 12,815 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $167.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -95.03 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.85. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.62 and a 52 week high of $171.95.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.59.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total transaction of $141,379.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,085,255.95. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.68, for a total value of $333,755.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,017,481.92. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804. 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.