Faithward Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Faithward Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,516,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Natera by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,795,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263,822 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $277,749,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Natera by 37.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $428,987,000 after acquiring an additional 727,366 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 215.7% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 527,942 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $84,983,000 after purchasing an additional 360,733 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.47.

Natera Stock Up 0.4%

NTRA stock opened at $198.38 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $217.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.15. The stock has a market cap of $28.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -129.66 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.38 and a twelve month high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.41) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,623 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $1,147,822.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 156,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,968,186.91. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Fesko sold 707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $144,319.91. Following the sale, the insider owned 189,199 shares in the company, valued at $38,621,191.87. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 318,344 shares of company stock valued at $74,091,416. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.