Connective Portfolio Management LLC Invests $779,000 in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Connective Portfolio Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 3,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $779,000. Natera accounts for approximately 1.4% of Connective Portfolio Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Natera by 9.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,871,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $545,624,000 after buying an additional 72,087 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 727,366 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 1.7% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,451,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $394,663,000 after buying an additional 41,303 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 39.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $386,338,000 after acquiring an additional 673,315 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 17,806 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 $4,179,780.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 177,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,687,711.34. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 318,344 shares of company stock valued at $74,091,416. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $197.37 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $212.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.13. 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 $27.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.00 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm 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 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.41) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup started coverage on Natera in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.47.

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.