Semanteon Capital Management LP Raises Stock Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Semanteon Capital Management LP lifted its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,840 shares during the quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP’s holdings in Natera were worth $1,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Natera by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Natera by 345.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Natera by 372.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Natera by 1,328.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $149.63 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $161.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a PE ratio of -85.02 and a beta of 1.80. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.13 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.91 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.23%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.04, for a total transaction of $149,837.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 144,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,143,963.28. This represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total transaction of $12,958,888.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. The trade was a 22.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 307,466 shares of company stock valued at $49,047,655 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Natera Company 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.