Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Boosts Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Natera, Inc. by 95.2%, acquiring an additional 63,200 shares, bringing its total to 129,600 shares valued at approximately $18.3 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Stifel Financial Corp and BNP Paribas Financial Markets, have significantly increased their positions in Natera, with 99.90% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Natera reported a revenue of $546.6 million for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates, but had an earnings per share of ($0.74), falling short of the expected ($0.60).

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 95.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,600 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 63,200 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.10% of Natera worth $18,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Natera by 56.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,537,743 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,490,144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795,315 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Natera in the first quarter worth approximately $113,375,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Natera by 9.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,361,963 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,041,055,000 after acquiring an additional 660,538 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Natera by 8,233.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 397,924 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $56,270,000 after acquiring an additional 393,149 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Natera by 13.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,035,979 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $287,908,000 after acquiring an additional 245,719 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on NTRA. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $194.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.99, for a total value of $459,222.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,004,444.85. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.88, for a total transaction of $771,634.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 163,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,738,237.84. This trade represents a 3.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,344 shares of company stock worth $8,271,610 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $168.02. 776,006 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,211,789. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.97 and a beta of 1.68. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.57 and a 52 week high of $183.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $154.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.91.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $476.84 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 22.22%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.30) earnings per share. Natera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.