Royal Bank of Canada Increases Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its Natera stake by 18.1% in the first quarter, adding 44,077 shares for a total holding valued at approximately $57.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 99.9% of Natera.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Natera receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $267.83. Morgan Stanley raised its target to $310, while several other firms maintain Buy or Outperform ratings.
• Natera shares opened at $267.76, near their 52-week high of $288.04, while company insiders sold about $39.4 million of stock over the past three months.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 18.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 288,069 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,077 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.20% of Natera worth $57,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NTRA. Eversept Partners LP grew its position in shares of Natera by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 384,713 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $76,939,000 after acquiring an additional 50,220 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its position in shares of Natera by 24.1% during the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,171,633 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $234,315,000 after acquiring an additional 227,605 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Natera by 8.9% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 61,550 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $12,310,000 after purchasing an additional 5,007 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its position in Natera by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 11,126 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,225,000 after acquiring an additional 2,445 shares during the period. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the first quarter valued at about $367,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NTRA. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Natera from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $275.00 price target on Natera and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $267.83.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $267.76 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $246.77 and its 200-day moving average is $222.22. The company has a market cap of $38.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -164.27 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $288.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other Natera news, Director Herm Rosenman sold 16,530 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $4,132,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,062,500. The trade was a 79.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total transaction of $17,184,180.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,076,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $237,097,181.38. This represents a 6.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 173,951 shares of company stock valued at $39,412,294 in the last three months. 5.05% of the stock is owned by 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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