Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 26.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 935,768 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 194,931 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.69% of Natera worth $132,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 657 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Natera by 1,328.0% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Natera by 1.5% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,417 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $248,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRA has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.63.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $167.96 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.14 and a 12-month high of $183.00. The company has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.26 and a beta of 1.74. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $158.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.53.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $501.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 18.29% and a negative net margin of 10.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.56) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 2,562 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total value of $354,606.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,457,844.37. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 9,563 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total value of $1,323,614.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,417,799.81. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,755 shares of company stock valued at $8,898,589 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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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