Natera, Inc. $NTRA Holdings Lifted by Eversept Partners LP

Eversept Partners LP increased its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 384,713 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,220 shares during the quarter. Natera comprises 4.1% of Eversept Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Eversept Partners LP owned approximately 0.27% of Natera worth $76,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coatue Management LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 1,446.1% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $603,270,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,008 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Natera by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,140,026,000 after buying an additional 2,420,263 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter worth approximately $372,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Natera by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after buying an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Natera by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $386,338,000 after buying an additional 673,315 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Natera from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Natera in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.83.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $258.03 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.57. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.81 and a 1 year high of $288.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.95 billion, a PE ratio of -158.30 and a beta of 1.51.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total value of $693,564.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total value of $17,184,180.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,076,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $237,097,181.38. This represents a 6.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 167,171 shares of company stock valued at $37,239,209. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

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.