Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 29.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 671,382 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 153,441 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $85,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Natera by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $483,034,000 after acquiring an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Natera by 295.9% in the 1st quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 656,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,063,000 after buying an additional 490,822 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 257.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,553,000 after buying an additional 469,327 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Natera by 53.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,783,000 after buying an additional 334,630 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in 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 valued at $44,036,000 after buying an additional 307,920 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,024 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.48, for a total value of $645,483.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,686 shares in the company, valued at $25,141,737.28. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.68, for a total transaction of $333,755.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,017,481.92. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,881 shares of company stock worth $3,733,983. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $151.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.86 and a beta of 1.53. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.01 and a twelve month high of $167.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.09.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $439.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.01% and a negative return on equity of 26.88%. Natera’s revenue was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Natera from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research increased their price target on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average 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.