Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Buys 16,018 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Aware Super acquired 16,018 Natera shares in the third quarter, a stake valued at approximately $6.62 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.9% of the company’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive but mixed: Natera has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $394.31, while two analysts rate it a sell.
• Natera’s latest reported quarter showed revenue of $752.75 million, up 37.7% year over year and above estimates; its loss per share was also slightly narrower than expected.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,018 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $6,620,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,962,770,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.0% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,191,732 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $238,334,000 after purchasing an additional 11,793 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 24.1% in the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,171,633 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $234,315,000 after purchasing an additional 227,605 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 10.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 833,376 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $226,220,000 after purchasing an additional 80,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth $199,960,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.89, for a total transaction of $4,955,652.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,238,698.51. This trade represents a 12.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 6,517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.53, for a total transaction of $2,095,411.01. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 197,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,424,043.21. This represents a 3.20% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 45,256 shares of company stock worth $16,455,344 in the last ninety days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Natera from $350.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $360.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Natera from $220.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Natera from $340.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $394.31.

Natera Stock Performance

Natera stock opened at $388.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -285.76 and a beta of 1.55. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.00 and a 52 week high of $437.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $379.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.89.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $752.75 million for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.74) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

About Natera

Natera, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes molecular testing services designed to provide personalized genetic and genomic information. Its tests are used across reproductive health, oncology and organ transplantation, with the company combining next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics to analyze DNA and monitor disease-related signals.

In reproductive health, Natera offers Panorama noninvasive prenatal screening, Horizon carrier screening and Vistara single-gene disorder screening.

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