Wellington Management Group LLP Has $1.10 Billion Stake in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Wellington Management reduced its Natera position by 15.3% in the second quarter, selling 727,855 shares. It still held 4.04 million shares valued at approximately $1.10 billion, representing 2.8% of the company.
• Natera reported quarterly revenue of $752.75 million, up 37.7% year over year and above analyst estimates, while its adjusted loss of $0.47 per share narrowly beat expectations.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $319.38. Recent target increases include Citigroup at $365 and Morgan Stanley at $355.

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 15.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,040,738 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 727,855 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 2.80% of Natera worth $1,096,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 244 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Natera by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp grew its holdings in Natera by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 982 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in Natera by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,804 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH raised its stake in shares of Natera by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH now owns 2,229 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Natera Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of NTRA opened at $326.26 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $285.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.61. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $157.43 and a 12 month high of $343.18. The stock has a market capitalization 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. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.The firm had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.74) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $310.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Natera from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $319.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,076 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.39, for a total transaction of $819,415.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,611,561.83. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total transaction of $905,627.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 129,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,264,866.02. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. 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 three months, insiders have sold 184,472 shares of company stock valued at $42,799,604. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company's stock.

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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