Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 98,015 Shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Natera, Inc. by 224.7% in Q1, now owning approximately $20 million worth of shares.
• Other large investors also raised their stakes in Natera, contributing to institutional investors owning 99.90% of the company.
• Natera reported earnings of ($0.74) per share in its latest quarterly report, falling short of expectations, but achieved a 32.2% year-over-year revenue growth.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 224.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141,641 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 98,015 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Natera worth $20,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,393,827 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,752,611,000 after purchasing an additional 77,357 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Natera by 134.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after buying an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its position in Natera by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 1,222,578 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $193,534,000 after acquiring an additional 82,488 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 945,511 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $149,674,000 after acquiring an additional 169,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 943,094 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $133,363,000 after acquiring an additional 55,383 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.07, for a total value of $471,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 133,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,922,509.35. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.10, for a total value of $960,038.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,132,054.10. This represents a 3.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,239 shares of company stock worth $8,986,542 over the last 90 days. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

Natera stock traded up $3.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $162.05. 348,674 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,519,559. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.57 and a 52-week high of $183.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $155.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.78. The company has a market cap of $22.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.85 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Sunday. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $193.19.

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.