Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Acquires 4,267 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 21.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,464 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,267 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $3,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRA. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC grew its position in Natera by 295.9% during the first quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 656,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $60,063,000 after buying an additional 490,822 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 257.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,553,000 after buying an additional 469,327 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Natera by 53.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $103,783,000 after acquiring an additional 334,630 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Natera by 311.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 406,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $44,036,000 after acquiring an additional 307,920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Natera from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.65.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $146.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.39. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.01 and a 52-week high of $167.79. The firm has a market cap of $19.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.99 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $127.38 and its 200 day moving average is $115.46.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total value of $141,379.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,695 shares in the company, valued at $13,085,255.95. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.57, for a total value of $344,439.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 284,741 shares in the company, valued at $36,324,409.37. This represents a 0.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,821 shares of company stock worth $4,776,878 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.