Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 790,101 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 11,319 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $181,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Natera by 123.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Natera in a research report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.12.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total transaction of $9,089,637.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 482 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.49, for a total transaction of $101,456.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,102,333.04. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 156,530 shares of company stock valued at $33,914,062 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $215.31 on Monday. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $256.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $204.19 and a 200 day moving average of $216.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -132.09 and a beta of 1.56.

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.