8,051 Shares in Natera, Inc. $NTRA Acquired by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired 8,051 Natera shares worth approximately $1.61 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.90% of Natera’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Natera receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $267.83; recent targets range as high as $330.
• Natera shares opened at $267.76, compared with a 52-week range of $131.81 to $288.04. Insiders sold $39.4 million worth of shares over the last quarter, primarily through pre-arranged plans to cover tax obligations.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,051 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,610,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,944,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,140,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420,263 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Natera by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $545,624,000 after buying an additional 72,087 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC increased its stake in Natera by 1,446.1% in 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 during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,644 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $596,078,000 after buying an additional 11,689 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Natera from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price objective on Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Natera from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $267.83.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $267.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $38.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -164.27 and a beta of 1.51. The firm's 50-day moving average is $246.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.22. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.81 and a 1 year high of $288.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 1,863 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $464,594.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,075,492.16. The trade was a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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, insider John Fesko sold 931 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.07, for a total value of $236,539.17. Following the sale, the insider owned 184,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,766,410.83. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 173,951 shares of company stock worth $39,412,294 over the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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