Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Has $215.13 Million Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Natera, Inc. by 5.6%, owning 1,521,300 shares valued at approximately $215 million as of the latest quarter.
• Insider selling activity includes CFO Michael Burkes Brophy and Director Gail Boxer Marcus reducing their stakes in the company, indicating a 4.45% and 30.22% decrease in ownership respectively.
• Despite a revenue increase of 32.2% year-over-year, Natera reported a loss of ($0.74) earnings per share, falling short of analysts' estimates.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,521,300 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 80,865 shares during the quarter. Natera accounts for 0.8% of Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 1.13% of Natera worth $215,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $418,383.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 65,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,990,082. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.10, for a total value of $960,038.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,132,054.10. This represents a 3.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,792 shares of company stock valued at $9,227,972 in the last three months. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Trading Up 2.9%

NASDAQ NTRA traded up $4.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $163.02. 1,502,326 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,693,905. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.57 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.66. The company has a market capitalization of $22.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.35 and a beta of 1.76.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 22.22%. The company had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $476.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. Natera's quarterly revenue was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natera 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.