Nykredit A S Purchases Shares of 57,455 Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S acquired 57,455 Natera shares worth approximately $15.6 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of Natera, with major holders including JPMorgan, Wellington Management, and BlackRock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Natera receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $319.38. Recent targets range as high as $360.
• Natera reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including revenue of $752.75 million—up 37.7% year over year—and an adjusted loss of $0.47 per share versus the expected $0.49 loss. Shares opened at $328.18, near their 12-month high.

Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 57,455 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $15,596,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,962,770,000. Coatue Management LLC raised its holdings in Natera by 1,446.1% during the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $603,270,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,008 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Natera by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,140,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420,263 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $372,398,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Leerink Partners set a $330.00 price target on Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Natera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Natera from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $319.38.

Natera Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $328.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.30 billion, a PE ratio of -241.31 and a beta of 1.54. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $157.43 and a 12-month high of $343.18. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $292.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.63.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.74) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 6,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.53, for a total value of $2,095,411.01. Following the transaction, the insider owned 197,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,424,043.21. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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, CEO Steven Chapman sold 1,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.99, for a total value of $545,041.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,520,897.01. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,206 shares of company stock valued at $19,944,069. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Company 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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