Ieq Capital LLC Grows Stake in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its Natera stake by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 57,028 shares and bringing its total holding to 209,753 shares worth about $48.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains extremely high, with several large funds including Norges Bank, JPMorgan, Franklin Resources, and AQR also boosting their positions in Natera.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive: Natera has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $256.53, while recent insider selling included shares sold by CEO Steven Leonard Chapman and Director Gail Boxer Marcus.

Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 37.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,753 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,028 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Natera worth $48,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Norges Bank bought a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Natera by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after buying an additional 1,225,420 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 37.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $428,987,000 after buying an additional 727,366 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $386,338,000 after buying an additional 673,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 215.7% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,942 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $84,983,000 after purchasing an additional 360,733 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Natera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Natera in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.53.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total transaction of $9,089,637.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at $24,035,465.29. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total value of $2,389,310.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,183 shares in the company, valued at $1,343,009.43. The trade was a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 159,378 shares of company stock worth $34,640,860 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $212.07 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $256.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -130.10 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $206.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.99.

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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