Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Sold by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 413,474 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 15,035 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 0.30% of Natera worth $66,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 362,767 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $58,406,000 after purchasing an additional 36,751 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the third quarter worth about $222,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth about $315,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in Natera by 0.7% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 195,362 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,447,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares during the period. Finally, CI Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 6.6% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 54,146 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,716,000 after buying an additional 3,343 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.02, for a total transaction of $790,079.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 156,607 shares in the company, valued at $31,324,532.14. This represents a 2.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 6,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.83, for a total transaction of $1,580,912.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,120 shares in the company, valued at $11,874,499.60. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 367,669 shares of company stock worth $85,584,453 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Evercore raised their price target on Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.47.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $203.03 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $224.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.76. The company has a market capitalization of $28.78 billion, a PE ratio of -132.70 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.38 and a fifty-two week high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The business had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Natera News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Signatera is being highlighted as a primary growth driver for Natera’s oncology business, supporting revenue momentum and investor optimism about recurring MRD testing demand. Signatera Oncology Test Drives Natera’s (NTRA) Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Management presented at TD Cowen’s healthcare conference; the transcript emphasizes commercial progress across oncology (Signatera), reproductive health and transplant products, reinforcing the narrative behind recent revenue beats. Natera Presents at TD Cowen 46th Annual Health Care Conference Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage noting why the stock traded up ties the move to the company’s recent operational beats and growth commentary, which can amplify buying interest on upside news. Natera (NTRA) Stock Trades Up, Here Is Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target from $265 to $250 but kept an Overweight rating — a modestly negative signal on price scope but still reflects continued analyst confidence. Morgan Stanley Lowers Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat/analyst notes show a consensus “Moderate Buy” and a cluster of raised targets from other firms, indicating mixed but generally constructive analyst sentiment that could limit downside. NTRA MarketBeat Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Steven Chapman and longtime insider Solomon Moshkevich sold shares in early March (transactions near $200/sh), which can weigh on sentiment even if the trades appear to be routine liquidity. Natera Insider Sells $599,550.00 in 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.