Jennison Associates LLC Grows Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC increased its Natera stake by 8.3% in the first quarter, buying 16,330 additional shares and bringing its total to 212,273 shares valued at about $42.45 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their Natera holdings, with hedge funds and institutions owning 99.9% of the stock overall.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including director Roelof Botha and director Herm Rosenman, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.83.

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,273 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,330 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.15% of Natera worth $42,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coatue Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 1,446.1% during the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $603,270,000 after buying an additional 2,463,008 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Natera by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,140,026,000 after buying an additional 2,420,263 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter worth about $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Natera by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,420 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $386,338,000 after acquiring an additional 673,315 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total value of $17,184,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,076,198 shares in the company, valued at $237,097,181.38. The trade was a 6.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $4,132,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,250 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,500. This trade represents a 79.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 178,872 shares of company stock valued at $39,627,696. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $262.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -161.12 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $131.81 and a fifty-two week high of $288.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research set a $275.00 target price on shares of Natera and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group set a $260.00 price target on Natera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Natera in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $267.83.

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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