National Pension Service Raises Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• National Pension Service sharply increased its stake in Natera, boosting holdings by 2,249.4% in the fourth quarter to 217,837 shares worth about $49.9 million.
• Institutional interest in Natera remains heavy, with hedge funds and other large investors owning 99.90% of the stock, while several analysts continue to see upside and the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $256.60 average price target.
• Natera’s latest news was positive overall, including a new Signatera collaboration in refractory melanoma and a Canaccord price target increase to $250 from $200, even as some insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged plans.

National Pension Service increased its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 2,249.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 217,837 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 208,565 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.16% of Natera worth $49,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter worth $12,981,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Natera by 9.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Natera by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 148,247 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $23,863,000 after purchasing an additional 57,400 shares in the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,323,000. Finally, Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC now owns 132,500 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $21,329,000 after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $256.60.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 1,688 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.10, for a total value of $344,520.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 187,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,270,995.10. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Natera stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 150,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,777,983.66. This trade represents a 3.73% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 34,406 shares of company stock valued at $6,984,955 over the last ninety days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Natera News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Natera announced a new collaboration with Diakonos Oncology to use Signatera in a Phase I/II study for refractory melanoma, expanding a key cancer-testing product into another clinical use case and reinforcing its oncology growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord raised its price target on Natera to $250 from $200, signaling stronger confidence in the company’s outlook and helping fuel bullish sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Natera is also drawing attention from investors after commentary calling it a favorite stock idea for the rest of 2026, which adds to the momentum around the name. Article Title

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $223.37 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $202.37 and a 200-day moving average of $215.75. The company has a market capitalization of $31.99 billion, a PE ratio of -137.04 and a beta of 1.56. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.81 and a 1-year high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Natera

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NTRA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.