Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 67.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 43,626 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,496 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Natera were worth $7,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Natera by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,316,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,949,697,000 after purchasing an additional 879,463 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 205.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after buying an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,747,000 after acquiring an additional 143,825 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Natera by 42.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $144,958,000 after acquiring an additional 328,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Natera by 2.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,012,498 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $128,537,000 after acquiring an additional 28,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $141.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The firm has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of -80.35 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.25. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.13 and a 1-year high of $183.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total transaction of $117,861.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 306,797 shares of company stock worth $48,940,883. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.