Robinhood Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 56,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,981,000. Natera accounts for about 1.0% of Robinhood Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,871,914,000 after buying an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Natera by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $545,624,000 after acquiring an additional 72,087 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 37.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $428,987,000 after acquiring an additional 727,366 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 1.7% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,451,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $394,663,000 after purchasing an additional 41,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 39.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NTRA opened at $204.87 on Tuesday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.38 and a 12-month high of $256.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -133.90 and a beta of 1.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $206.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.82.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research raised Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $144,319.91. Following the sale, the insider owned 189,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,621,191.87. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.30, for a total transaction of $606,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 147,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,916,528.60. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 314,545 shares of company stock worth $73,141,185 over the last three months. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.