Ground Swell Capital LLC Takes Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,078 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,000. Natera accounts for about 1.1% of Ground Swell Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NTRA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Natera by 2.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,676,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,141,594,000 after acquiring an additional 282,826 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,795,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263,822 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Natera by 7.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,552,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $430,640,000 after purchasing an additional 166,768 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 20.6% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,937,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,346,000 after acquiring an additional 330,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 44.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,750 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $291,717,000 after purchasing an additional 532,769 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Natera from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, Director Herm Rosenman sold 48,419 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.42, for a total transaction of $11,011,448.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,626,177.64. This trade represents a 70.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 23,205 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total value of $5,447,141.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 144,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,035,422.08. This trade represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 455,899 shares of company stock valued at $106,475,440. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Down 2.2%

NTRA stock opened at $207.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.16. The company has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.76 and a beta of 1.64. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.38 and a fifty-two week high of $256.36.

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.