Foresite Capital Management V LLC Takes $15.43 Million Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Foresite Capital Management disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Natera, buying 67,356 shares valued at about $15.43 million. The position represents roughly 9.4% of Foresite’s portfolio and is its fourth-largest holding.
• Institutional ownership in Natera remains extremely high, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 99.90% of the stock. Several firms also increased or initiated positions during the quarter, including Panagora Asset Management and the Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado.
• Analysts are mixed but generally constructive: Natera carries an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $256.53. At the same time, some firms have cut ratings or reiterated bearish views, including Weiss Ratings’ “sell” call and Wall Street Zen’s downgrade to “hold.”

Foresite Capital Management V LLC purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 67,356 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $15,431,000. Natera accounts for approximately 9.4% of Foresite Capital Management V LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,989,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 15,524 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,556,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,252 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,036,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 393,420 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $90,129,000 after acquiring an additional 116,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in Natera by 590.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 82,315 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $18,858,000 after purchasing an additional 70,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. William Blair initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Natera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.53.

Natera Stock Up 2.3%

Natera stock opened at $216.97 on Tuesday. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.81 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $206.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.69. The stock has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -133.11 and a beta of 1.56.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total transaction of $2,389,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,183 shares in the company, valued at $1,343,009.43. The trade was a 64.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total value of $693,564.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 142,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,378 shares of company stock valued at $34,640,860. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Natera Company Profile

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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