Meeder Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management cut its Natera stake by 24.9% in Q1, selling 7,961 shares and ending the quarter with 23,954 shares valued at about $4.79 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions in Natera, and the stock remains heavily institutionally owned at 99.90%.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, including notable transactions by Solomon Moshkevich and Herm Rosenman; meanwhile, analysts are generally positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $267.83.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,954 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,961 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Natera were worth $4,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Coatue Management LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 1,446.1% in the 4th 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 increased its position in shares of Natera by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,140,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,420,263 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at about $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Natera by 10.5% in 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 raised its stake in shares of Natera by 39.0% in 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.90, for a total value of $818,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 134,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,744,074.70. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 4,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,062,500. The trade was a 79.55% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders sold 178,872 shares of company stock valued at $39,627,696. 5.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $271.39 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $233.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.87 billion, a PE ratio of -166.50 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $288.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NTRA. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group set a $260.00 price target on Natera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Natera from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $267.83.

About Natera

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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