Citigroup Inc. Has $25.61 Million Stock Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 22% in the first quarter, owning approximately 181,079 shares worth $25.61 million.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Natera, with multiple firms raising their price targets; Barclays set a new target of $210.00, and UBS raised theirs to $218.00, affirming a "buy" rating.
• Despite the growth in revenue by 32.2% year-over-year, Natera reported a loss of ($0.74) earnings per share, missing consensus expectations.

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 22.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,079 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,689 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.13% of Natera worth $25,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Natera by 2.0% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,652 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Natera by 1.5% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,417 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 5.0% in the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,737 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Natera by 5.5% during the first quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,676 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in Natera by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.46, for a total value of $136,027.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 123,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,255,120.14. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 678 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.46, for a total transaction of $105,401.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 152,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,746,048.62. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,792 shares of company stock worth $9,227,972 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Natera Trading Up 2.9%

NTRA traded up $4.58 on Friday, reaching $163.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,502,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,693,905. The company has a fifty day moving average of $155.18 and a 200-day moving average of $154.75. The company has a market capitalization of $22.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.35 and a beta of 1.76. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $110.57 and a one year high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $546.60 million during 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 quarterly revenue was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.30) EPS. Research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRA has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.19.

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.