Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 3,887 Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Beacon Pointe Advisors initiated a position in Natera, buying 3,887 shares valued at approximately $1.055 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.90% of Natera’s outstanding stock.
• Natera reported second-quarter revenue of $752.75 million, up 37.7% year over year and above analyst expectations, while its adjusted loss of $0.47 per share was slightly better than estimates.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $319.38. Natera shares opened at $326.26, near their 52-week high of $343.18, while insiders have sold approximately $25 million in stock over the past 90 days under pre-arranged plans.

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,887 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NTRA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,962,770,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at $5,117,000. Abbot Financial Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at $1,537,000. Eagle Health Investments LP purchased a new stake in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,302,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in Natera by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 438,857 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $100,538,000 after purchasing an additional 71,355 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $326.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -239.90 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $157.43 and a 1-year high of $343.18. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $285.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.78.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The firm's revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.74) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Stephens increased their price target on Natera from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Natera in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on Natera from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $319.38.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,076 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.39, for a total value of $819,415.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,611,561.83. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,159,898.14. This represents a 0.92% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 103,472 shares of company stock worth $24,960,134. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Natera 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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