Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,892 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Natera were worth $4,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.1% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,353 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Natera by 34.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at about $270,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 315,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $40,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,815 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.12.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.69, for a total value of $590,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,433,183.76. The trade was a 29.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total transaction of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 114,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,217,063.20. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 298,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,803,462. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Trading Up 4.0 %

Natera stock opened at $148.22 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $83.13 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The company has a quick ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.22 and a beta of 1.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.21.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.91 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.