Natera, Inc. $NTRA Position Boosted by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,170 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Natera were worth $7,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Natera by 83.5% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 233 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 1,857.1% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 274 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 95.7% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Herm Rosenman sold 48,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.42, for a total value of $11,011,448.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,626,177.64. This represents a 70.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Roy D. Baynes sold 7,668 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.08, for a total value of $1,710,577.44. Following the sale, the director owned 18,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,525.72. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 365,164 shares of company stock valued at $76,621,909. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 price objective on shares of Natera and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.18.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $233.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.33 billion, a PE ratio of -102.07 and a beta of 1.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $218.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.47. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.38 and a 52 week high of $246.90.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). Natera had a negative net margin of 14.61% and a negative return on equity of 25.07%. The company had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.55 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.26) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Natera Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.