Maverick Capital Ltd. Purchases 227,605 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 24.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,171,633 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227,605 shares during the quarter. Natera comprises 2.7% of Maverick Capital Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Maverick Capital Ltd.’s holdings in Natera were worth $234,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,981,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,825,000. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Natera by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 438,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $100,538,000 after acquiring an additional 71,355 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its position in shares of Natera by 44.6% in the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 9,346 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 2,883 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Natera by 286.8% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 65,717 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,055,000 after acquiring an additional 48,728 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Natera Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $258.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -158.30 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $131.81 and a one year high of $288.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.57.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $4,132,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,500. This represents a 79.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total transaction of $2,389,310.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,343,009.43. This trade represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 167,171 shares of company stock worth $37,239,209. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NTRA. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Natera from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.83.

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.