Natera, Inc. $NTRA Position Lessened by Calamos Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Calamos Advisors LLC cut its Natera stake by 48.4% in the first quarter, leaving it with 4,246 shares valued at about $849,000.
• Insider selling has been notable, with directors Gail Boxer Marcus and Herm Rosenman both selling large blocks of shares; over the last three months, insiders sold 178,872 shares worth about $39.6 million.
• Wall Street remains mostly constructive on Natera, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.83, even as the stock recently traded down 2.7% to $269.83.

Calamos Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 48.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,246 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,976 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in Natera were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 244 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 982 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,804 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total transaction of $2,389,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,343,009.43. This represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $4,132,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,062,500. This represents a 79.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 178,872 shares of company stock worth $39,627,696. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NTRA. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Natera in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Natera from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $267.83.

Natera Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Natera stock opened at $269.83 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $288.04. The stock has a market cap of $38.64 billion, a PE ratio of -165.54 and a beta of 1.51. The company's 50-day moving average price is $232.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.05.

Natera 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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