Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 753.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,551 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 24,324 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Natera were worth $4,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Natera by 35.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 264,801 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,680,000 after purchasing an additional 69,523 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 24.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 36,257 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,926,000 after buying an additional 7,132 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth about $317,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in Natera by 28.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Natera by 148.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their price target on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.88.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 25,931 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $4,277,837.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 109,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,091,435.05. The trade was a 19.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total value of $692,226.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 185,034 shares in the company, valued at $27,090,827.94. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 243,122 shares of company stock valued at $40,336,290. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $176.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.70. The company has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a PE ratio of -100.15 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.74 and a 12-month high of $183.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.95) EPS. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.