Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 12,815 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 315,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 12,815 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $40,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 671,382 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 153,441 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its position in Natera by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 13,634 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter worth about $270,000. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 175,590 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,291,000 after purchasing an additional 14,159 shares during the period. Finally, GDS Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter worth about $459,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $146.06 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $127.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.46. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.01 and a 52 week high of $167.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a PE ratio of -82.99 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total transaction of $645,483.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,141,737.28. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $36,324,409.37. This represents a 0.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,821 shares of company stock valued at $4,776,878. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NTRA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, September 13th. 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.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.65.

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.