Andra AP fonden Increases Stock Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Andra AP fonden raised its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 96,737 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Natera were worth $26,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 15.7% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,257 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Natera during the second quarter valued at $11,695,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in Natera by 43.6% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 40,839 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,086,000 after acquiring an additional 12,395 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 335.3% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,441,000 after acquiring an additional 18,278 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Natera by 250.1% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,812 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Chapman sold 1,698 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.99, for a total transaction of $545,041.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,520,897.01. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Michael Brophy sold 478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total transaction of $131,077.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,159,898.14. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,242 shares of company stock worth $19,301,534. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Natera from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.83.

Natera Trading Up 4.4%

NASDAQ NTRA traded up $16.15 on Tuesday, reaching $386.79. 605,328 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,361,379. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $157.43 and a one year high of $389.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.75 billion, a PE ratio of -284.48 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $307.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $248.17.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The company’s revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.74) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Natera

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services based on cell-free DNA and other genomic technologies. The company focuses on reproductive health, oncology and organ health, providing tests intended to support screening, diagnosis, treatment planning and disease monitoring.

Its reproductive health portfolio includes Panorama, a noninvasive prenatal test that screens for certain chromosomal conditions, and Horizon, a carrier screening test.