Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Cuts Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC cut its Natera stake by 43.4% in the first quarter, leaving it with 76,250 shares valued at about $15.25 million.
• Insider selling has also been notable: Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares, and insiders sold 178,872 shares total over the last 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $267.83; shares recently traded at $272.66, near their 52-week high.

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) by 43.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,250 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 58,550 shares during the period. Natera makes up about 2.1% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC owned about 0.05% of Natera worth $15,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Natera by 132.9% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its position in Natera by 103.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total value of $17,184,180.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,076,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at $237,097,181.38. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total transaction of $693,564.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 142,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,984,068.55. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold 178,872 shares of company stock valued at $39,627,696. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRA. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Natera from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $310.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $267.83.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $272.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $39.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -167.28 and a beta of 1.51. The stock's 50-day moving average is $230.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.50. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.81 and a 1-year high of $288.04.

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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