Danske Bank A S Grows Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S increased its stake in Natera by 17.0% in Q4, buying 8,300 shares to hold 57,002 shares worth about $13.06 million.
• Natera sharply beat expectations in its most recent quarter, reporting EPS of $0.35 (vs. a consensus of −$0.46) and revenue of $665.5 million versus estimates of $600.7 million.
• Analysts are generally positive with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.47, though individual targets and ratings have varied across firms.

Danske Bank A S grew its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,002 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 8,300 shares during the quarter. Danske Bank A S's holdings in Natera were worth $13,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth $46,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. William Blair started coverage on Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.47.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $207.28 on Monday. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.81 and a 1-year high of $256.36. The business's fifty day moving average price is $202.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.50 billion, a PE ratio of -135.48 and a beta of 1.57.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.41) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total value of $594,781.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,293,298.34. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total value of $1,191,769.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 150,769 shares in the company, valued at $30,777,983.66. This represents a 3.73% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 49,770 shares of company stock valued at $10,522,129 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

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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