JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has increased its stake in Natera, Inc. by 9.9%, owning approximately 5.45% of the company valued at over $1 billion as of the latest SEC filing.
• Recent analyst ratings for Natera show a mixed sentiment; while Barclays raised its price target to $210.00, Wall Street Zen downgraded its rating to "sell."
• Natera reported a revenue increase of 32.2% year-over-year but missed EPS estimates, indicating challenges despite growing sales.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 9.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,361,963 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 660,538 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 5.45% of Natera worth $1,041,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Natera in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 117.8% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Natera in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 114.8% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Sunday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.53.

Natera Stock Up 7.7%

NTRA opened at $151.95 on Monday. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.00 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $155.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.85. The company has a market cap of $20.75 billion, a PE ratio of -79.55 and a beta of 1.76.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $546.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 22.93%. The firm's revenue was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.30) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 1,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $239,075.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 151,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,216,167.50. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total transaction of $418,383.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 65,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,990,082. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,239 shares of company stock worth $8,986,542 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.

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