Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Increases Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. increased its stake in Natera, Inc. by 56.3% in Q1, owning a total of 10,537,743 shares valued at approximately $1.49 billion.
• Several major institutional investors have also raised their holdings in Natera, including Vanguard Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Natera's latest earnings report showed a revenue increase of 32.2% year-over-year, though it reported losses that exceeded analyst expectations, posting an EPS of ($0.74).

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 56.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,537,743 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 3,795,315 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 7.79% of Natera worth $1,490,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Natera by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,393,827 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,752,611,000 after acquiring an additional 77,357 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Natera by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,361,963 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,041,055,000 after purchasing an additional 660,538 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Natera by 13.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,035,979 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $287,908,000 after buying an additional 245,719 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 5.6% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $215,127,000 after buying an additional 80,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Natera by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 1,222,578 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $193,534,000 after buying an additional 82,488 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $160.64 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $22.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.10 and a beta of 1.76. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.57 and a twelve month high of $183.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $154.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.48.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Natera had a negative net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 22.22%. The business had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $476.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.30) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. Natera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 875 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.46, for a total transaction of $136,027.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,255,120.14. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 2,496 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.17, for a total value of $332,392.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $767,458.71. The trade was a 30.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,792 shares of company stock valued at $9,227,972. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Natera to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Natera from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.19.

Natera Company Profile

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.

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