Quantessence Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 4,599 Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Quantessence Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $728,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Natera by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,701,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,060,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,396 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $224,040,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $146,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Natera by 7.7% during the fourth 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. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Natera by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $142.23 on Tuesday. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.10 and a 52-week high of $183.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -80.81 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $149.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.09.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 24,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $4,101,319.17. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,208,639.48. The trade was a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value 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 represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 325,922 shares of company stock worth $51,603,664 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.76.

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.