Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $60.92 Million Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 32.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 430,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,613 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.32% of Natera worth $60,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 223.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 301 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 343 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.55, for a total value of $49,923.65. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 156,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,843,490.30. The trade was a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 495 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.74, for a total transaction of $74,616.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,503,270.88. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,275 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,783 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $166.76 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $153.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.62. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.14 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The company has a market capitalization of $22.77 billion, a PE ratio of -94.75 and a beta of 1.74. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by $0.09. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.56) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.63.

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.