Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Takes Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,850 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Natera by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 30,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,801,000 after acquiring an additional 10,326 shares in the last quarter. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at about $317,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Natera by 753.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 27,551 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,361,000 after purchasing an additional 24,324 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 104.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management acquired a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,029,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRA. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Natera from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.88.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $176.27 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.74 and a 1 year high of $183.00. The firm has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -100.15 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $166.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.70. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.41, for a total transaction of $692,226.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 185,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,090,827.94. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,442 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.87, for a total value of $233,416.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,032 shares in the company, valued at $17,487,139.84. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 243,122 shares of company stock valued at $40,336,290 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.