Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 8,430 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 2.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 311,068 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,430 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $62,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Natera by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after buying an additional 1,225,420 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Natera by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,140,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420,263 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Natera by 2.2% during the third 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. Coatue Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 1,446.1% during the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $603,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463,008 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,644 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $596,078,000 after acquiring an additional 11,689 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NTRA shares. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on Natera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price target on Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.83.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $269.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $38.64 billion, a PE ratio of -165.54 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $232.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.05. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $131.81 and a one year high of $288.04.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.90, for a total transaction of $818,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 134,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,744,074.70. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total value of $9,089,637.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,035,465.29. This trade represents a 27.44% 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. Insiders sold a total of 178,872 shares of company stock worth $39,627,696 in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Company 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.