Point72 Asset Management L.P. Buys 135,103 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 24.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 697,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 135,103 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Natera were worth $88,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 13.6% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $483,034,000 after acquiring an additional 532,874 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Natera by 257.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,553,000 after purchasing an additional 469,327 shares during the last quarter. PointState Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Natera by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $99,343,000 after purchasing an additional 413,468 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Natera by 53.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,783,000 after purchasing an additional 334,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 311.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 406,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $44,036,000 after purchasing an additional 307,920 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 9,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.98, for a total value of $1,548,926.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,552,445.92. This represents a 49.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,141,737.28. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,503 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,804 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $169.17 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $137.36 and its 200 day moving average is $121.28. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.56 and a 12 month high of $171.95. The company has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a P/E 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.95) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Natera from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.59.

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.