HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors increased its Natera stake by 29.8% in the second quarter, purchasing 32,395 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 140,931 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 99.90% of Natera.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $322.50; Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage with a $385 target.
• Natera’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with revenue rising 37.7% year over year to $752.75 million and adjusted earnings outperforming estimates, although the company remains unprofitable.

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 29.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 140,931 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,395 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of Natera worth $38,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 244 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its stake in shares of Natera by 48.5% in the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its stake in shares of Natera by 5.5% in the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 982 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the third quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,804 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 15,160 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.89, for a total transaction of $4,955,652.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,238,698.51. The trade was a 12.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 John Fesko sold 6,517 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.53, for a total value of $2,095,411.01. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 197,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,424,043.21. The trade was a 3.20% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,206 shares of company stock worth $19,944,069. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners set a $330.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, July 6th. BTIG Research increased their price target on Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $348.00 price target on Natera in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.50.

Natera Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $324.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $294.79 and a 200 day moving average of $239.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -238.34 and a beta of 1.54. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $157.43 and a 12-month high of $343.18.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.74) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

Natera 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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