American Century Companies Inc. Has $157.57 Million Stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 33.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 995,372 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 502,018 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.75% of Natera worth $157,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Natera by 205.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,800,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $355,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,481 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth $146,419,000. PointState Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 112.0% during the third quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 782,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $99,343,000 after purchasing an additional 413,468 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 42.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,099,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $144,958,000 after purchasing an additional 328,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 25.2% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,340,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,119,000 after purchasing an additional 269,706 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $151.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.88 and a beta of 1.80. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $161.23 and its 200-day moving average is $149.75. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $83.13 and a one year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total value of $978,693.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 203,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,695,784.62. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 114,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,217,063.20. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 307,466 shares of company stock worth $49,047,655 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Natera from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

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.