Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 373,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 14,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.27% of Natera worth $60,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Natera by 95.7% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Natera during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in Natera by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 310 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 256.8% during the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 314 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXS Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,623 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $1,147,822.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 156,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,968,186.91. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $186,778.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 150,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,799,542.66. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 371,333 shares of company stock valued at $86,162,243. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.47.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $196.61 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.38 and a 1-year high of $256.36. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $221.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.87 billion, a PE ratio of -128.50 and a beta of 1.65.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.41) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.