Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,012,498 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 28,751 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $128,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NTRA. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its stake in Natera by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 891 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 104,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Leeward Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $671,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,583 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.91, for a total transaction of $663,874.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 200,710 shares in the company, valued at $23,866,426.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.91, for a total transaction of $663,874.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 200,710 shares in the company, valued at $23,866,426.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total value of $1,452,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 287,441 shares in the company, valued at $34,783,235.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,164 shares of company stock worth $6,157,291. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock opened at $134.11 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $124.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.60. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.77 and a 12-month high of $134.33. The company has a current ratio of 4.14, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $16.59 billion, a PE ratio of -54.74 and a beta of 1.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.39. Natera had a negative net margin of 21.47% and a negative return on equity of 36.74%. The company had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.97) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

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.