14,887 Shares in Natera, Inc. $NTRA Purchased by Nia Impact Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Nia Impact Advisors LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in Natera, buying 14,887 shares worth about $3.41 million.
• Institutional ownership in Natera remains very high, with several other funds also adding to stakes; the article says 99.90% of the stock is held by institutional investors.
• Analysts are generally constructive on the stock, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.60, even as insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Nia Impact Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 14,887 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $3,411,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in Natera by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,055 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Natera by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 363,121 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $83,187,000 after acquiring an additional 27,136 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. Praxis Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in Natera by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 48,184 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $11,038,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $256.60.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock opened at $203.19 on Monday. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.81 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The firm has a market cap of $29.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -124.66 and a beta of 1.57. The company's 50-day moving average price is $200.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.45.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.05% and a negative return on equity of 14.74%. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.41) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 902 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $185,956.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,896,580.72. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total transaction of $693,564.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at $28,984,068.55. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,266 shares of company stock valued at $7,747,808. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

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.

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