Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $128.54 Million Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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. owned about 0.77% of Natera worth $128,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 13.6% in 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 buying an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Natera by 205.4% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Natera by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,482,818 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $315,194,000 after purchasing an additional 85,236 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,090,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,747,000 after purchasing an additional 143,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,974,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $213,860,000 after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Natera from $132.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Craig Hallum upped their target price on Natera from $121.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.67.

Natera Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $161.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $147.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -91.98 and a beta of 1.63. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.21 and a 1 year high of $175.63.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $439.80 million during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total value of $589,799.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 191,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,927,655.20. This represents a 2.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 1,767 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total transaction of $300,814.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,828.48. This trade represents a 22.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 130,263 shares of company stock valued at $20,905,668. 7.60% of the stock is 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.