Portolan Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 151,032 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,385,000. Portolan Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Natera at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth $111,690,000. Braidwell LP purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth $65,116,000. Eversept Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Natera by 88.4% during the fourth quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 2,685,959 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $107,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260,357 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 2,280.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,202,382 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Natera by 54.8% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,832,266 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,444 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total transaction of $600,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 494,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,689,707.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total transaction of $600,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 494,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,689,707.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 2,578 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $141,790.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 214,988 shares in the company, valued at $11,824,340. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,493 shares of company stock valued at $2,051,428 over the last 90 days. 9.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Natera from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 7th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Natera from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Natera from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.22.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA traded up $0.70 during trading on Monday, reaching $54.90. The stock had a trading volume of 325,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,197,924. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of -11.24 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.69 and a current ratio of 3.85. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $34.00 and a one year high of $63.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.71 and a 200-day moving average of $52.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The medical research company reported ($0.97) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $261.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.67 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 88.47% and a negative net margin of 54.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 31.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.50) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.