American Century Companies Inc. Has $157.57 Million Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 995,372 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 502,018 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $157,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Natera by 205.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $146,419,000. PointState Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $99,343,000 after buying an additional 413,468 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $144,958,000 after buying an additional 328,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,119,000 after buying an additional 269,706 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Stock Up 1.0 %

NTRA stock opened at $151.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.75. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.13 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. 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 market cap of $20.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.88 and a beta of 1.80.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The business had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. On average, research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 78,553 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.97, for a total value of $12,958,888.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,150,756.13. This represents a 22.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 663 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.77, for a total value of $117,861.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,739,941.88. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 307,466 shares of company stock valued at $49,047,655 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.