Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 11,319 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 790,101 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 11,319 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.57% of Natera worth $181,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Natera by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,433,094 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $328,308,000 after acquiring an additional 20,371 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 714,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $163,729,000 after buying an additional 138,890 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $356,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,028 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,985,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 157,466 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,074,000 after buying an additional 27,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $215.31 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $30.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -132.09 and a beta of 1.56. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $256.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NTRA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.43, for a total transaction of $655,290.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 137,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,065,360.49. This represents a 2.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total transaction of $101,456.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,496 shares in the company, valued at $12,102,333.04. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 156,530 shares of company stock worth $33,914,062. 5.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.