BlackRock Inc. Buys Shares of 10,914,608 Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 10.9 million Natera shares worth approximately $2.96 billion, giving it a 7.62% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 99.90% of the company.
• Natera reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue rising 37.7% year over year to $752.75 million and a loss of $0.47 per share versus the $0.49 consensus estimate.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $319.38, although insiders sold roughly $41.3 million of shares over the past three months.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,914,608 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,962,770,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 7.62% of Natera at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth $2,675,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Natera in the second quarter valued at about $86,874,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Natera in the second quarter valued at about $622,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Natera in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Natera in the second quarter worth about $50,424,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $311.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $44.93 billion, a PE ratio of -229.18 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $267.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.35. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.71 and a 1 year high of $326.03.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.74) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total transaction of $905,627.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 129,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,264,866.02. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total transaction of $17,184,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,076,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $237,097,181.38. This represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968 in the last three months. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group set a $260.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $348.00 price target on Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $319.38.

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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