Deepwater Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Deepwater Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 39,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,082,000. Natera accounts for approximately 2.6% of Deepwater Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 244 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the third quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,804 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 931 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.12.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $215.31 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $204.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a PE 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.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total value of $693,564.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at $28,984,068.55. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total transaction of $9,089,637.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,530 shares of company stock worth $33,914,062. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.