United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $1.10 Million Investment in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,050 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,099,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,962,770,000. Coatue Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 1,446.1% during the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $603,270,000 after buying an additional 2,463,008 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Natera by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,140,026,000 after buying an additional 2,420,263 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at about $372,398,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Natera by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,076 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.39, for a total transaction of $819,415.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,611,561.83. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 51,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,159,898.14. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 184,472 shares of company stock worth $42,799,604. 5.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Trading Down 3.7%

NTRA stock opened at $326.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.03 billion, a PE ratio of -239.90 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $157.43 and a 1-year high of $343.18. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $285.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.61.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.38.

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.