California State Teachers Retirement System Has $15.29 Billion Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its Natera stake by 56.1 million shares in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 56.3 million shares worth approximately $15.29 billion, or 39.08% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 99.90% of Natera.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Natera has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $319.38, with several firms recently raising their targets, including Piper Sandler to $363.50 and BTIG Research to $320.
• Natera reported stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue of $752.75 million, up 37.7% year over year, and an adjusted loss of $0.47 per share versus estimates of $0.49. The stock opened at $328.18, near its 12-month high of $343.18, while insiders have sold roughly $19.9 million of shares over the past 90 days under pre-arranged plans.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 28,373.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,324,789 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,126,974 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 39.08% of Natera worth $15,289,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Natera by 11.1% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,768 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Natera by 29.6% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,987 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank increased its stake in shares of Natera by 94.3% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 9,425 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 4,575 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its stake in shares of Natera by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, denkapparat Operations GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH now owns 4,414 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Natera from $220.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Natera in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $319.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 6,517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.53, for a total value of $2,095,411.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 197,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,424,043.21. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.89, for a total transaction of $4,955,652.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 110,859 shares in the company, valued at $36,238,698.51. This represents a 12.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold a total of 71,206 shares of company stock valued at $19,944,069 in the last ninety days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $328.18 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $293.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -241.31 and a beta of 1.54. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $157.43 and a 12-month high of $343.18.

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

About Natera

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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