Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Sold by Eagle Health Investments LP

Key Points

• Eagle Health Investments LP reduced its Natera stake by 10% in the fourth quarter, selling 20,400 shares and leaving it with 183,264 shares worth about $41.98 million.
• Despite that sale, institutional ownership remains very high: 99.9% of Natera shares are held by institutions and hedge funds, with several major investors recently increasing their positions.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on Natera, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.60, even after some recent target cuts and one downgrade to Hold.

Eagle Health Investments LP cut its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 183,264 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 20,400 shares during the period. Natera accounts for about 9.2% of Eagle Health Investments LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Eagle Health Investments LP owned 0.13% of Natera worth $41,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Natera by 9.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,871,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,129 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Natera by 37.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $428,987,000 after purchasing an additional 727,366 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Natera by 215.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,942 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $84,983,000 after purchasing an additional 360,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Natera by 5,965.1% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 343,768 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $78,754,000 after purchasing an additional 338,100 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. William Blair initiated coverage on Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price objective on Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $256.60.

Natera Stock Up 4.5%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $204.92 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $200.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -125.72 and a beta of 1.57. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.81 and a 12-month high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 9.05%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.41) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total transaction of $693,564.45. Following the transaction, the insider owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total value of $1,191,769.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 150,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,777,983.66. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 38,266 shares of company stock worth $7,747,808 in the last ninety days. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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