Natera, Inc. $NTRA Stake Boosted by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.09% of Natera worth $29,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Natera by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Natera by 68.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Natera by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $847,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $298,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $558,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 target price on Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Natera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.43, for a total value of $655,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 137,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,065,360.49. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Fesko sold 1,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.84, for a total value of $291,683.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 185,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,684,020.88. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 156,530 shares of company stock worth $33,914,062 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $215.31 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $30.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -132.09 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.13. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $256.36.

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.