Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Bought by HighVista Strategies LLC

HighVista Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,580 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,566 shares during the quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $1,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 10.4% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,444 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 5.4% during the third quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 20,419 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,451,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $394,663,000 after buying an additional 41,303 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 65.4% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,289 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after buying an additional 4,861 shares during the period. Finally, EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 15,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,533,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 85,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.72, for a total transaction of $19,680,185.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 127,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,504,704.32. This trade represents a 40.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 17,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total value of $4,179,780.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 177,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,687,711.34. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 318,222 shares of company stock valued at $74,068,068 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $197.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.02 billion, a PE ratio of -129.20 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.38 and a 12-month high of $256.36.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on NTRA. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.47.

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.