CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Acquires 53,086 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 173,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 53,086 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $27,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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 valued at $1,795,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263,822 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $277,749,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 37.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $428,987,000 after purchasing an additional 727,366 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 215.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,942 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $84,983,000 after purchasing an additional 360,733 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Natera from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total transaction of $9,016,424.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,552,392.42. This represents a 36.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 23,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total transaction of $5,447,141.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 144,992 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 318,344 shares of company stock valued at $74,091,416 over the last 90 days. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Trading Up 2.5%

NTRA stock opened at $202.73 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $216.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.05. The firm has a market cap of $28.73 billion, a PE ratio of -132.50 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.38 and a 1-year high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current 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.