Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Natera, Inc. by 67.9% in Q1, owning 30,866 shares valued at approximately $4.37 million after selling 65,239 shares.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their positions in Natera, with NWI Management LP raising its stake by 12.5% and NewEdge Advisors LLC growing its holdings by 68.3%.
• Natera's revenue increased by 32.2% year-over-year to $546.6 million, although the company reported a loss of $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' expectations.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 67.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 30,866 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 65,239 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Natera were worth $4,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Natera by 2.0% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,652 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,914 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,417 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Natera by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,737 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,676 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Natera Trading Up 5.4%

Natera stock traded up $8.98 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $176.37. 1,296,953 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,001,568. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.62 and a fifty-two week high of $183.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -92.34 and a beta of 1.68. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $154.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.87.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 22.22% and a negative net margin of 12.89%.Natera's revenue for the quarter was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.30) earnings per share. Natera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NTRA. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $183.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $194.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total transaction of $418,383.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 65,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,990,082. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 6,092 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $851,722.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 169,400 shares in the company, valued at $23,683,814. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,423 shares of company stock valued at $8,459,656 over the last ninety days. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.