Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Has $163.73 Million Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 714,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 138,890 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.52% of Natera worth $163,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at $12,981,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 9.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,871,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the third quarter valued at $1,323,000. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 6.8% during the third quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC now owns 132,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,329,000 after acquiring an additional 8,400 shares during the period. Finally, Systrade AG acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at $11,454,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.12.

Natera Trading Up 4.8%

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $222.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.07. The company has a market capitalization of $31.81 billion, a PE ratio of -136.26 and a beta of 1.56. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.81 and a 12 month high of $256.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 1,438 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.84, for a total value of $291,683.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 185,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,684,020.88. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $185,956.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 149,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,896,580.72. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 115,406 shares of company stock valued at $24,824,425 in the last ninety days. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.