Natera, Inc. $NTRA is Eversept Partners LP's 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Eversept Partners LP cut its Natera stake by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, but the stock still represented its 5th largest position at about 3.9% of the portfolio.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.53, even though one firm kept a sell rating and others adjusted targets.
• Insiders have recently sold shares, including CEO Steven Leonard Chapman and director Roelof Botha, with total insider sales of 162,342 shares worth about $35.3 million over the last 90 days.

Eversept Partners LP reduced its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 35.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 334,493 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 185,151 shares during the period. Natera makes up approximately 3.9% of Eversept Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Eversept Partners LP owned about 0.24% of Natera worth $76,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Impact Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 174.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Impact Advisors LLC now owns 178,567 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $40,908,000 after purchasing an additional 113,508 shares in the last quarter. Caption Management LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $2,749,000. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its holdings in Natera by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,167,869 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $496,637,000 after purchasing an additional 420,621 shares in the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $1,107,000. Finally, American Trust purchased a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $296,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. William Blair started coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $256.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total value of $9,089,637.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total transaction of $17,184,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,076,198 shares in the company, valued at $237,097,181.38. This represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 162,342 shares of company stock valued at $35,283,396 in the last 90 days. 5.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of Natera stock opened at $226.44 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.81 and a 12-month high of $256.36. The stock has a market cap of $32.43 billion, a PE ratio of -138.92 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $207.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.50.

Natera Company Profile

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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