Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Raises Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,454 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,085 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Natera were worth $6,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Natera by 95.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings in Natera by 59.8% during the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 310 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Natera by 256.8% during the second quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 314 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 23.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore lifted their price target on Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.47.

Key Headlines Impacting Natera

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat — Natera reported Q4 revenue of $665.5M and GAAP EPS of $0.35, well ahead of street estimates (revenue ~$600.7M, EPS loss consensus). The beat supports near-term growth expectations and underpins the stock’s recent strength. Natera Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable clinical data — New Signatera MRD data presented at ASCO GU highlight potential utility across genitourinary cancers (including bladder preservation), which may expand clinical adoption and long-term revenue for Natera’s oncology franchise. Signatera MRD Data at ASCO GU
• Positive Sentiment: Trial results — Natera reported results from the SINERGY trial, another clinical datapoint that could support commercial adoption of its assays. Natera Announces Results From the SINERGY Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/targets — Robert W. Baird raised its price target to $257 (outperform) and Wells Fargo raised its target to $215 (equal weight), signaling some sell-side confidence in upside from current levels. Benzinga – Analyst Price Target Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Full-year revenue guidance roughly in line with consensus — Management issued FY2026 revenue guidance (roughly $2.6B–$2.7B), which appears consistent with street expectations and reduces upside surprise potential from guidance alone. (See Q4 release for guidance details.) Natera Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus — Aggregated analyst coverage remains constructive (average “Moderate Buy”), which supports medium-term expectations but doesn’t preclude short-term volatility. Analyst Average Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and fundamentals concerns — Despite the beat, Natera still shows negative net margin and negative return on equity on a GAAP basis; combined with a high market capitalization and a recent run-up toward 52-week highs, investors may be taking profits. MarketBeat Q4 Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy intraday volume and selling pressure — Trading volume was well above average, consistent with a distribution day where some holders trimmed positions after the company’s strong quarter; that drove the stock lower despite the positives. (See intraday volume and price action for context.)

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.77, for a total value of $1,090,388.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 123,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,420,710.12. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 6,939 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.83, for a total transaction of $1,580,912.37. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,874,499.60. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 368,119 shares of company stock valued at $85,956,782 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of Natera stock opened at $208.04 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.38 and a twelve month high of $256.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.78 billion, a PE ratio of -135.97 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $226.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.85.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The business had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 16.71% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natera Company 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.