Westpac Banking Corp Buys 9,881 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 235.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,081 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 9,881 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Natera were worth $2,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.7% in the second quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $743,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in Natera by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 578 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Natera stock opened at $211.83 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.38 and a 1-year high of $256.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $227.17 and its 200 day moving average is $203.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.50 and a beta of 1.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 6,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.83, for a total value of $1,580,912.37. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,874,499.60. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.77, for a total value of $1,090,388.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 123,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,420,710.12. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 368,119 shares of company stock valued at $85,956,782 over the last quarter. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.