Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys New Shares in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio initiated a Natera position by purchasing 38,972 shares worth approximately $10.6 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 99.90% of the company.
• Natera reported quarterly revenue of $752.75 million, up 37.7% year over year and above estimates, while its adjusted loss of $0.47 per share was slightly better than expected.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $319.38, although insiders have sold 103,472 shares worth nearly $25 million over the past quarter.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 38,972 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $10,579,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC bought a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $321.96 on Tuesday. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $157.43 and a 1-year high of $343.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.41 billion, a PE ratio of -236.73 and a beta of 1.51. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $286.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.55.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 6,517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.53, for a total transaction of $2,095,411.01. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 197,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,424,043.21. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total value of $905,627.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 129,019 shares in the company, valued at $34,264,866.02. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 103,472 shares of company stock worth $24,960,134. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $319.38.

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.

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