Abbot Financial Management Inc. Takes Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Abbot Financial Management initiated a Natera position in the second quarter, purchasing 5,663 shares valued at approximately $1.54 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.90% of Natera’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Natera receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $319.38; Citigroup and Stephens recently raised their targets to $365 and $350, respectively.
• Natera’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with revenue rising 37.7% year over year to $752.75 million and adjusted EPS of negative $0.47 beating estimates. However, the company remains unprofitable, reporting a negative net margin and negative return on equity.

Abbot Financial Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,663 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,537,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 68.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Natera by 8.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,993 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Natera during the second quarter worth approximately $298,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $558,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research raised Natera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $319.38.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $309.93 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -227.89 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.71 and a 1 year high of $326.03. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $263.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.30.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.74) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total value of $2,389,310.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,183 shares in the company, valued at $1,343,009.43. This trade represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total transaction of $17,184,180.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,076,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $237,097,181.38. The trade was a 6.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 181,045 shares of company stock worth $41,330,968. 5.05% of the stock is 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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