Board of Trustees of The Leland Stanford Junior University Invests $7.17 Million in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Stanford University’s endowment bought 31,303 shares of Natera in Q4, a position valued at about $7.17 million. The stake represents roughly 1.4% of its portfolio and is its 6th-largest holding.
• Institutional ownership remains extremely high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 99.90% of Natera shares. Several large investors, including Norges Bank and JPMorgan Chase, also increased or initiated sizable positions.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic on Natera despite a slight cut in Morgan Stanley’s price target. The stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $256.53.

Board of Trustees of The Leland Stanford Junior University bought a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 31,303 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $7,171,000. Natera accounts for approximately 1.4% of Board of Trustees of The Leland Stanford Junior University's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,944,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 37.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $428,987,000 after purchasing an additional 727,366 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,179,939 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $270,312,000 after purchasing an additional 620,954 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NTRA. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $256.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 1,438 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.84, for a total value of $291,683.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 185,782 shares in the company, valued at $37,684,020.88. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.43, for a total transaction of $655,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 137,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,065,360.49. This trade represents a 2.13% 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. Insiders sold 159,378 shares of company stock valued at $34,640,860 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NTRA opened at $216.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -133.11 and a beta of 1.56. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $131.81 and a twelve month high of $256.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $206.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.69.

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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