iA Global Asset Management Inc. Takes $1.07 Million Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,659 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Natera by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,795,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263,822 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth $277,749,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Natera by 44.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,750 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $291,717,000 after purchasing an additional 532,769 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in Natera by 149.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 562,985 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $95,111,000 after buying an additional 336,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,937,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,346,000 after buying an additional 330,696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Natera

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Peer‑reviewed clinical validation: Natera published clinical validation of its Latitude™ tissue‑free MRD test in colorectal cancer, boosting the credibility of a higher‑value oncology product that could support future revenue and reimbursement expansion. Clinical validation article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Multiple sell‑side firms have raised price targets and the consensus remains a “Moderate Buy” with an implied target around the mid‑$200s, providing medium‑term bullish backing for the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fund positioning note: A Voya MidCap Opportunities investor letter and related coverage highlight that lack of exposure to Natera hurt that fund’s Q4 performance — a sign NTRA was a notable outperformer for some mid‑cap portfolios but not a direct company catalyst. Voya fund note
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed fundamentals & ownership: Recent quarter showed strong revenue growth (~35% YoY) but continued GAAP losses; institutional ownership is extremely high (~99.9%), which reduces free float and can both support and cap volatility depending on flows.
• Negative Sentiment: Clustered insider selling — material: CEO Steven Chapman, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy and other insiders executed large sales on Jan. 20–21 (CEO sale ~71.9k shares; CFO sales totaling ~61k+ shares across days), representing sizable reductions in holdings and increasing perceived near‑term supply pressure. CEO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider sales: Multiple smaller insider transactions (e.g., Solomon Moshkevich) were also reported, reinforcing the market perception of insider liquidity taking and adding downward pressure. InsiderTrades coverage

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Stephens raised their price objective on Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Herm Rosenman sold 48,419 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.42, for a total transaction of $11,011,448.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,626,177.64. The trade was a 70.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 160,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.96, for a total transaction of $32,134,171.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 144,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,957,407.36. This trade represents a 52.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 514,562 shares of company stock valued at $114,292,421. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Down 0.5%

NTRA opened at $241.58 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.38 and a 12-month high of $256.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $234.18 and a 200-day moving average of $191.40. The stock has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.49 and a beta of 1.62.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). Natera had a negative net margin of 14.61% and a negative return on equity of 25.07%. The business had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.26) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.