Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Decreases Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,777 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Natera were worth $8,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTRA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,676,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,141,594,000 after buying an additional 282,826 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 44.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,795,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263,822 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natera by 7.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,552,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $430,640,000 after acquiring an additional 166,768 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera by 20.6% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,937,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,346,000 after purchasing an additional 330,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Natera by 44.6% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $235.93 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $235.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.03. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.38 and a 1-year high of $256.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -103.03 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Natera to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Natera from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total value of $9,016,424.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,552,392.42. The trade was a 36.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,590 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $373,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 219,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,500,250. This trade represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 499,569 shares of company stock worth $111,419,899 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Natera 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.