Teza Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,398 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 134.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,067,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 43.7% during 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,240,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $512,898,000 after purchasing an additional 439,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,681 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,809,000 after purchasing an additional 142,201 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $151.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $20.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.85 and a beta of 1.79. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.14 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.11.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.56) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.61, for a total value of $606,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,471,223.44. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total transaction of $354,606.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,457,844.37. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 152,436 shares of company stock valued at $22,019,079. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.12.

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.