PointState Capital LP Grows Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

PointState Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 413,468 shares during the quarter. Natera comprises about 1.8% of PointState Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. PointState Capital LP owned 0.59% of Natera worth $99,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Natera by 148.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 318 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Natera by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Natera by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $169.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $137.36 and a 200 day moving average of $121.28. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.56 and a twelve month high of $171.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.12 and a beta of 1.63. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business’s revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at $25,141,737.28. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.76, for a total value of $73,422.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,937,930.64. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.59.

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.