Millrace Asset Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Millrace Asset Group Inc. increased its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,228 shares during the quarter. Natera comprises approximately 1.6% of Millrace Asset Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Millrace Asset Group Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $1,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Natera by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 67,906 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,621,000 after buying an additional 31,649 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Natera by 90.7% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,774 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $987,000 after acquiring an additional 3,697 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth about $232,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth about $505,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Natera by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 86,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,936,000 after purchasing an additional 18,316 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total transaction of $344,439.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 284,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,324,409.37. This represents a 0.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.68, for a total value of $333,755.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,481.92. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,503 shares of company stock worth $6,325,804 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $164.39 on Tuesday. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.88 and a 1-year high of $171.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.15. The company has a market capitalization of $21.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -93.40 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.95) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.59.

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.