Arizona State Retirement System Grows Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Natera were worth $1,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 224.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 127.2% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,586 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 74.4% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,594 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 2,358 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $153,482.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 108,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,061,874.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider John Fesko sold 2,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total transaction of $153,482.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 108,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,061,874.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total value of $133,457.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,965,488. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 366,477 shares of company stock worth $28,552,682. 9.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Natera from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Natera from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James downgraded Natera from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $68.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.73.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $96.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of -25.52 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.90 and a fifty-two week high of $98.82.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.73) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $311.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.38 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 62.19% and a negative net margin of 40.16%. Sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.