Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Purchased by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 3.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 797,034 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 29,221 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $128,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 95.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Natera by 256.8% during the second quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 314 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $240.34 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.72. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.38 and a 1 year high of $256.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.24 billion, a PE ratio of -104.95 and a beta of 1.62.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by ($0.25). Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The business had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.26) earnings per share. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total value of $9,016,424.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,552,392.42. This trade represents a 36.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $373,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 219,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,500,250. This trade represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 499,569 shares of company stock valued at $111,419,899 in the last three months. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NTRA shares. Zacks Research raised Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Natera to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.20.

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.