Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,415,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,040,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,949,697,000 after buying an additional 879,463 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,060,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,396 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 valued at $355,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,481 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,747,000 after purchasing an additional 143,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera by 42.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $144,958,000 after purchasing an additional 328,375 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $143.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.13 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The firm has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a PE ratio of -81.78 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.13.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total value of $590,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,433,183.76. This trade represents a 29.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,026 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.04, for a total transaction of $149,837.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 144,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,143,963.28. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 306,797 shares of company stock valued at $48,940,883 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera 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.