Bank of Nova Scotia Takes $370,000 Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 2,620 shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) valued at approximately $370,000 during the first quarter.
• Insider selling occurred recently, with Director Gail Boxer Marcus selling 4,299 shares and CEO Steven Leonard Chapman selling 6,111 shares, reducing their ownership stakes by 34.62% and 3.30%, respectively.
• Despite a recent earnings report showing a loss, analysts have shown optimism with multiple upgrades, including price targets raised by Barclays, Piper Sandler, and Royal Bank of Canada, indicating a consensus outlook of "Moderate Buy."

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,620 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 117.8% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 114.8% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Trading Up 7.7%

NTRA traded up $10.87 on Friday, reaching $151.95. The stock had a trading volume of 3,849,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,416. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.00 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $155.60 and a 200-day moving average of $154.85. The company has a market capitalization of $20.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -79.55 and a beta of 1.76.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $476.84 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 22.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.30) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Natera from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.89, for a total value of $398,670.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 123,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,353,310.51. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,496 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.17, for a total value of $332,392.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,763 shares in the company, valued at $767,458.71. This trade represents a 30.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,239 shares of company stock valued at $8,986,542. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.