Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,415,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,040,000. Norges Bank owned 1.07% of Natera as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 372.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Natera by 1,328.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,026 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.04, for a total value of $149,837.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 144,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,143,963.28. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total transaction of $978,693.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,695,784.62. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 306,797 shares of company stock valued at $48,940,883 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $143.94 on Monday. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.13 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.60 and a 200 day moving average of $151.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -81.78 and a beta of 1.80.

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

Natera 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.