Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Purchases New Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,544 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,676,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,141,594,000 after purchasing an additional 282,826 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Natera by 44.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,795,125,000 after buying an additional 3,263,822 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Natera by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,552,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $430,640,000 after acquiring an additional 166,768 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Natera by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,937,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,346,000 after acquiring an additional 330,696 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Natera by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,750 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $291,717,000 after acquiring an additional 532,769 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Natera from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $172.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.89.

Key Natera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major banks initiate or reaffirm buy ratings on Natera, which can attract more institutional demand and support the stock. Citigroup initiates coverage of Natera (NTRA) with buy recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler issued a buy on Natera, reinforcing recent bullish analyst activity and signaling continued confidence in the company’s growth trajectory. Natera (NTRA) Receives a Buy from Piper Sandler
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim reiterated its buy rating, joining other firms that have raised price targets — a supportive backdrop for sentiment and mid‑term upside. Guggenheim Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Natera (NTRA)
• Positive Sentiment: Natera announced a collaboration with Exelixis on the phase 3 STELLAR‑316 colorectal cancer trial — this expands potential clinical use cases for Natera’s oncology assays and could drive future revenue if tied to companion diagnostics/monitoring. Exelixis and Natera to Collaborate on STELLAR-316
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains skewed positive overall (MarketBeat/AmericanBankingNews show a “Moderate Buy” average rating and a consensus price target in the low‑to mid‑$200s), implying expectations are baked into current levels. Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Routine market data/price pages track the share move but add no new catalyst. Natera (NTRA) share price
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling was reported (aggregate reports note roughly US$47M in insider sales recently), which can signal near‑term liquidity or confidence concerns and often pressures the stock. Insiders At Natera Sold US$47m In Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Company insiders including CEO Steven Chapman and other executives (Solomon Moshkevich) recently filed Form 4 sales (small single‑digit percentage reductions in holdings). Multiple, recurring insider sales can amplify investor caution. Solomon Moshkevich Sells 2,951 Shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $239.56 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.38 and a fifty-two week high of $256.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $226.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.64. The firm has a market cap of $33.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -104.61 and a beta of 1.62.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.25). Natera had a negative net margin of 14.61% and a negative return on equity of 25.07%. The company had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.26) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 4,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.76, for a total value of $1,082,725.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 113,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,090,879.40. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 160,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.96, for a total transaction of $32,134,171.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,957,407.36. This represents a 52.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 343,280 shares of company stock valued at $73,566,011. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Natera

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.