American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 39.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 843,427 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 238,679 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $135,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Natera by 44.3% during the second 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 last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $277,749,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 44.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,937,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,346,000 after purchasing an additional 330,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Natera by 118.3% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 572,832 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $96,774,000 after purchasing an additional 310,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 6,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.83, for a total value of $1,580,912.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,874,499.60. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 $28,420,710.12. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 360,719 shares of company stock worth $84,194,824 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $208.04 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $226.52 and a 200 day moving average of $204.17. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.38 and a 1-year high of $256.36. The firm has a market cap of $28.78 billion, a PE ratio of -135.97 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Natera from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Evercore lifted their price objective on Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.47.

Trending Headlines about 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.)

About Natera

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.