Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires Shares of 29,600 Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund invested approximately $4.2 million in Natera, Inc., acquiring 29,600 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have given Natera a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $193.19, while Royal Bank of Canada recently raised their price target to $255.00.
• Natera reported a revenue increase of 32.2% year-over-year despite posting a loss of ($0.74) earnings per share in the most recent quarter.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund bought a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 29,600 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $4,186,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,393,827 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,752,611,000 after purchasing an additional 77,357 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,361,963 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,041,055,000 after purchasing an additional 660,538 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Natera by 134.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after buying an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Natera by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,035,979 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $287,908,000 after buying an additional 245,719 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP raised its position in shares of Natera by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 1,222,578 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $193,534,000 after buying an additional 82,488 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA traded up $3.5910 during trading on Friday, hitting $165.5410. The company's stock had a trading volume of 303,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,511,526. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $154.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.38. The company has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a PE ratio of -86.77 and a beta of 1.76. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.57 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.07, for a total transaction of $471,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 133,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,922,509.35. The trade was a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,299 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total transaction of $719,480.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,358,628.48. The trade was a 34.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,792 shares of company stock worth $9,227,972. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $193.19.

About Natera

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.