SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda Takes Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,466,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,962,770,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,117,000. Abbot Financial Management Inc. purchased a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,537,000. Eagle Health Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth $4,302,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 71,355 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $326.26 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $157.43 and a 52-week high of $343.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -239.90 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $285.07 and a 200-day moving average of $233.61.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.74) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $4,132,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,500. The trade was a 79.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total value of $2,389,310.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,343,009.43. This represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 184,472 shares of company stock valued at $42,799,604. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NTRA. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Natera from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $330.00 price objective on Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.38.

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.