BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd Invests $11.70 Million in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 43,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,695,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth $30,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth $32,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $355.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.83.

Natera Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NTRA opened at $330.31 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $295.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.25. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $157.43 and a 12 month high of $343.18. The company has a market capitalization of $47.61 billion, a PE ratio of -242.87 and a beta of 1.54.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.The company had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.74) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Brophy sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total transaction of $131,077.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,159,898.14. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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. Also, insider John Fesko sold 6,517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.53, for a total transaction of $2,095,411.01. Following the transaction, the insider owned 197,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,424,043.21. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,206 shares of company stock worth $19,944,069. 5.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Natera

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services based on cell-free DNA and other genomic technologies. The company focuses on reproductive health, oncology and organ health, providing tests intended to support screening, diagnosis, treatment planning and disease monitoring.

Its reproductive health portfolio includes Panorama, a noninvasive prenatal test that screens for certain chromosomal conditions, and Horizon, a carrier screening test.