Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires Shares of 1,722 Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. has acquired a new stake in Natera, Inc., purchasing 1,722 shares valued at approximately $244,000 in the first quarter.
• Natera reported earnings per share of ($0.74) in its latest quarter, missing the consensus estimate by $0.14, despite revenue of $546.60 million, which exceeded expectations.
• Currently, about 99.90% of Natera's stock is held by hedge funds and institutional investors, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,722 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Natera by 56.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,537,743 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,490,144,000 after buying an additional 3,795,315 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the first quarter valued at approximately $113,375,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Natera by 9.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,361,963 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,041,055,000 after buying an additional 660,538 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 8,233.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 397,924 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $56,270,000 after buying an additional 393,149 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in Natera by 19.7% in the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,634,769 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $231,173,000 after buying an additional 268,715 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.62, for a total transaction of $499,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 120,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,137,526.58. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rowan E. Chapman sold 2,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.99, for a total value of $459,222.50. Following the sale, the director owned 6,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,004,444.85. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,423 shares of company stock valued at $8,459,656 in the last three months. Insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $183.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 price objective on Natera and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seventeen have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $194.00.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded down $5.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $168.51. 853,091 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 978,479. The company has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a PE ratio of -88.23 and a beta of 1.68. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $117.27 and a one year high of $183.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $155.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.12.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative return on equity of 22.22% and a negative net margin of 12.89%.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 company posted ($0.30) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Natera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.