Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 34,658 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 350,201 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 34,658 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $55,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Natera by 345.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Natera by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Natera by 1,328.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Natera by 34.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 25,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $4,277,837.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 109,665 shares in the company, valued at $18,091,435.05. This trade represents a 19.12 % decrease in their position. 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 78,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. This trade represents a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 301,571 shares of company stock valued at $48,322,810. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $140.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -79.92 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.58. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.56.

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.