Candriam S.C.A. Lowers Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 13.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 85,677 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 13,469 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Natera were worth $17,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,981,000. Systrade AG purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,454,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $2,825,000. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Natera by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 438,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $100,538,000 after acquiring an additional 71,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in Natera by 213.9% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 25,095 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,040,000 after acquiring an additional 17,100 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at $24,035,465.29. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 178,872 shares of company stock worth $39,627,696 over the last ninety days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Trading Down 4.2%

NASDAQ:NTRA traded down $11.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $269.95. The company had a trading volume of 969,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,642,286. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.81 and a 1 year high of $288.04. The company has a market cap of $38.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -165.61 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $227.53 and a 200 day moving average of $219.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group set a $260.00 price objective on Natera in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Natera from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.33.

Natera 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.