MidFirst Bank Acquires New Stake in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

MidFirst Bank bought a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,284 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 103.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NTRA. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Two investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.53.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA opened at $231.41 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $256.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.14 billion, a PE ratio of -141.97 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.52.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total value of $2,389,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,009.43. This represents a 64.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 162,342 shares of company stock valued at $35,283,396. 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.