56,665 Shares in Natera, Inc. $NTRA Purchased by Robinhood Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Robinhood Asset Management bought 56,665 shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) in Q4, a stake worth about $12.98 million that represents roughly 1.0% of the fund's holdings and makes Natera its 23rd-largest position.
• Natera beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $0.35 (vs. -$0.46 est.) and revenue of $665.5M (vs. $600.7M est.), but the company remains unprofitable with a negative net margin (-9.03%) and analysts expect negative full-year EPS.
• Institutional ownership is very high (about 99.9%), yet insiders have sold 314,545 shares in the past 90 days (≈$73.1M), while insiders still hold 5.63% of the company.

Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 56,665 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $12,981,000. Natera accounts for approximately 1.0% of Robinhood Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 9.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,871,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $428,987,000 after purchasing an additional 727,366 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Natera by 215.7% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,942 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $84,983,000 after purchasing an additional 360,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Natera by 118.3% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 572,832 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $96,774,000 after purchasing an additional 310,452 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $204.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -133.90 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.82. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.38 and a 52-week high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 17,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total transaction of $4,179,780.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 177,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,687,711.34. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 23,205 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total value of $5,447,141.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 144,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,035,422.08. This trade represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,545 shares of company stock worth $73,141,185. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on NTRA. Citigroup began coverage on Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.47.

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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