Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,389,033 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 287,620 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Natera worth $1,994,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 95.7% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 310 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.12, for a total transaction of $17,709,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,154,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,529,231.76. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 23,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total transaction of $5,447,141.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 144,992 shares in the company, valued at $34,035,422.08. The trade was a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 443,119 shares of company stock valued at $103,665,782. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NTRA. Barclays boosted their target price on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.20.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock opened at $216.36 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.38 and a 1 year high of $256.36. The company has a market cap of $29.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.48 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $228.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $200.75.

Natera Profile

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.