Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Has $36.31 Million Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC trimmed its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 229,365 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 13,260 shares during the quarter. Natera makes up approximately 2.7% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Natera worth $36,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NTRA. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Natera by 205.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,493,000 after buying an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 257.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,553,000 after buying an additional 469,327 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 112.0% during the third quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $99,343,000 after buying an additional 413,468 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 42.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $144,958,000 after purchasing an additional 328,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 36.1% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,145,362 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $124,031,000 after purchasing an additional 303,905 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $172.36 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.96 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The stock has a market cap of $22.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -97.63 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $165.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.41. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the topic of several research reports. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Natera from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 87,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.12, for a total value of $14,793,433.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,224,787 shares in the company, valued at $207,135,977.44. This represents a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total value of $141,379.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 110,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,085,255.95. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 224,133 shares of company stock valued at $36,830,652 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.