J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,331 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,825,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at $412,000. Northwest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter worth $365,000. LVW Advisors LLC raised its stake in Natera by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,483 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth about $458,000. Finally, Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC lifted its position in Natera by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $199.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $209.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.96. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.38 and a 1 year high of $256.36. The stock has a market cap of $28.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -130.71 and a beta of 1.65.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.41) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.47.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 707 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $144,319.91. Following the transaction, the insider owned 189,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,621,191.87. This represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,623 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $1,147,822.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 156,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,968,186.91. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 318,344 shares of company stock valued at $74,091,416. Insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

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.