Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 16,142 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 36.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 16,142 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Natera were worth $12,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co boosted its holdings in Natera by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 1,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Natera by 45.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,609 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,721,000 after purchasing an additional 16,691 shares during the period. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 5.1% during the first quarter. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of Natera by 333.7% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 10,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mozayyx Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at $309,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NTRA. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price target on Natera in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research set a $275.00 price target on Natera and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.22.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total transaction of $17,184,180.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,076,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $237,097,181.38. This represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $4,132,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,250 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,500. The trade was a 79.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 178,872 shares of company stock worth $39,415,896 in the last quarter. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $261.91 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $131.81 and a twelve month high of $271.47. The stock has a market cap of $37.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -160.68 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $212.73 and a 200 day moving average of $215.87.

About Natera

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.