SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. Purchases Shares of 8,200 Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• SBI Okasan Asset Management initiated a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter, buying 8,200 shares valued at about $1.9 million.
• Institutional ownership in Natera remains extremely high at 99.90%, and several large funds, including JPMorgan Chase and Franklin Resources, recently increased their stakes.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly positive: Natera has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $256.60, though a few firms still have more cautious or bearish views.

SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,200 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,897,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Natera by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,871,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,129 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Natera by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $428,987,000 after acquiring an additional 727,366 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $386,338,000 after acquiring an additional 673,315 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 215.7% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,942 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $84,983,000 after acquiring an additional 360,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Natera by 5,965.1% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 343,768 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $78,754,000 after purchasing an additional 338,100 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NTRA. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. William Blair began coverage on Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price target on Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $256.60.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total value of $101,456.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,102,333.04. This represents a 0.83% 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. 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 John Fesko sold 1,438 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.84, for a total transaction of $291,683.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 185,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,684,020.88. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders sold 41,356 shares of company stock valued at $8,374,584 over the last ninety days. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $213.94 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -131.25 and a beta of 1.57. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The business had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.05% and a negative return on equity of 14.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

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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