Systrade AG Buys Shares of 50,000 Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Systrade AG bought 50,000 shares (~$11.45M) of Natera in Q4, making the stock about 7.0% of its portfolio and its fifth-largest holding.
• Natera beat expectations for the quarter—EPS $0.35 vs. consensus -$0.46 and revenue $665.5M vs. $600.7M—yet remains unprofitable (negative net margin and ROE), and analysts hold a consensus Moderate Buy with a $253.47 price target.
• Insiders have been net sellers (318,344 shares worth $74.09M sold in the last 90 days; insiders own 5.63%), while institutional ownership is extremely high at 99.90%.

Systrade AG bought a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 50,000 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $11,454,000. Natera comprises about 7.0% of Systrade AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 727 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 45,835 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $11,476,000 after buying an additional 9,424 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,579,000 after buying an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Natera by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,617 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Natera by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,742 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,946,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Natera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $186,778.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 150,882 shares in the company, valued at $30,799,542.66. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,623 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $1,147,822.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 156,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,968,186.91. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 318,344 shares of company stock worth $74,091,416 in the last 90 days. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $200.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.36 billion, a PE ratio of -130.78 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.38 and a 1 year high of $256.36. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $214.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.02.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal 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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