abrdn plc Takes Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

abrdn plc purchased a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 51,308 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,214,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 720,160 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $45,111,000 after purchasing an additional 159,993 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 1,043.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 90,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,664,000 after purchasing an additional 82,514 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 101.2% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 145,996 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,058,000 after purchasing an additional 73,419 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Natera in the third quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Natera by 33.4% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 374,004 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $16,550,000 after purchasing an additional 93,556 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NTRA. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $70.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $117.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Natera from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Daniel Rabinowitz sold 35,307 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.09, for a total value of $2,651,202.63. Following the sale, the insider now owns 204,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,334,729.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Natera news, insider Daniel Rabinowitz sold 35,307 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.09, for a total value of $2,651,202.63. Following the sale, the insider now owns 204,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,334,729.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 22,281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.73, for a total transaction of $1,509,092.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,784,853.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 434,943 shares of company stock worth $35,419,396 in the last 90 days. 9.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $91.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.18 and a beta of 1.37. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $36.90 and a one year high of $98.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $88.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 3.96.

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

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.