Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its Natera stake by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 29,700 more shares and bringing its total holding to 161,000 shares worth about $36.9 million.
• Insider selling continued at Natera, with CEO Steven Leonard Chapman and insider Solomon Moshkevich selling shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding obligations. Insiders have sold 38,266 shares worth about $7.75 million over the last three months.
• Natera reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue expectations, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $256.60.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,000 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 29,700 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.12% of Natera worth $36,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised 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 valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the third quarter valued at $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 902 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $185,956.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 149,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,896,580.72. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 142,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. This trade represents 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. Insiders have sold a total of 38,266 shares of company stock worth $7,747,808 in the last three months. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

Natera stock opened at $196.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a PE ratio of -120.27 and a beta of 1.57. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $131.81 and a one year high of $256.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $200.69 and a 200 day moving average of $215.30.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 9.05%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $256.60.

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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