Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 12,166 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC cut its Natera stake by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,166 shares and ending with 23,884 shares valued at about $5.47 million.
• Other major institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, State Street, Franklin Resources, and Geode Capital, continued to hold large positions in Natera, with institutional investors owning 99.90% of the stock.
• Wall Street remains mostly positive on Natera, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $256.12, even as some analysts trimmed targets or downgraded the stock.

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 33.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,884 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 12,166 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Natera were worth $5,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,871,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,129 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Natera by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $545,624,000 after acquiring an additional 72,087 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $428,987,000 after acquiring an additional 727,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,644 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $596,078,000 after acquiring an additional 11,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,451,779 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $394,663,000 after acquiring an additional 41,303 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 1,438 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.84, for a total transaction of $291,683.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 185,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,684,020.88. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total value of $101,456.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,102,333.04. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,500 shares of company stock worth $32,274,898. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRA. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Natera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $256.12.

Natera Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $213.47 on Tuesday. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.81 and a 1-year high of $256.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.57 billion, a PE ratio of -130.96 and a beta of 1.56.

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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