Trexquant Investment LP Increases Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Natera, Inc. by 208% during Q1, owning 108,327 shares valued at approximately $15.32 million.
• Natera reported a loss of $0.74 per share for the latest quarter, missing analysts' estimates, though its revenue rose 32.2% year-over-year to $546.60 million.
• The stock has received mixed evaluations from analysts, with a current consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price averaging $193.19.

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 208.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,327 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 73,153 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.08% of Natera worth $15,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,393,827 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,752,611,000 after buying an additional 77,357 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Natera by 56.3% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 3,795,315 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,361,963 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,041,055,000 after purchasing an additional 660,538 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 13.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,035,979 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $287,908,000 after buying an additional 245,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 5.6% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $215,127,000 after acquiring an additional 80,865 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Natera from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $193.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,496 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.17, for a total transaction of $332,392.32. Following the sale, the director owned 5,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $767,458.71. This represents a 30.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $418,383.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 65,430 shares in the company, valued at $8,990,082. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,594 shares of company stock worth $7,312,528. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company's stock.

Natera Stock Up 0.8%

NTRA traded up $1.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $169.62. 719,668 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,491,397. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.57 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -88.75 and a beta of 1.68. The business's 50 day moving average is $154.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.77.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $546.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $476.84 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 22.22%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 32.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. Natera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

About Natera

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.