Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes $50.42 Million Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 185,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,424,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.13% of Natera at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Natera in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Natera by 132.9% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA stock opened at $325.07 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $269.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.01. The company has a market capitalization of $46.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -239.02 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.71 and a 1-year high of $326.03.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.74) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Natera in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Stephens raised their price target on Natera from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Natera in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $330.00 target price on Natera in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total transaction of $131,077.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,159,898.14. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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, insider John Fesko sold 295 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.99, for a total transaction of $79,057.05. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 183,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,249,594.26. The trade was a 0.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 181,045 shares of company stock worth $41,330,968 over the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.