Senator Investment Group LP Makes New $8.82 Million Investment in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Senator Investment Group purchased 32,500 Natera shares worth approximately $8.82 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors now own about 99.90% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Natera receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $319.38; several firms recently raised targets to as high as $365.
• Natera’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with adjusted losses of $0.47 per share versus estimates of $0.49 and revenue of $752.75 million, up 37.7% year over year. The stock opened at $326.26, near its 52-week high of $343.18.

Senator Investment Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 32,500 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $8,822,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Natera from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $319.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $131,077.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,159,898.14. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,076 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.39, for a total value of $819,415.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,897 shares in the company, valued at $26,611,561.83. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 103,472 shares of company stock valued at $24,960,134. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $326.26 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $285.07 and its 200-day moving average is $233.78. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $157.43 and a 52 week high of $343.18. The firm has a market cap of $47.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -239.90 and a beta of 1.51.

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

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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