Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 38,972 Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 38,972 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,579,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,962,770,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,117,000. Abbot Financial Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at $1,537,000. Eagle Health Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at $4,302,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Natera by 3,373.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,253 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 10,929 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 1.3%

Natera stock opened at $321.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $286.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.41 billion, a PE ratio of -236.73 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $157.43 and a 12-month high of $343.18.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.74) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total transaction of $9,089,637.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total value of $2,389,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,343,009.43. The trade was a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 103,472 shares of company stock valued at $24,960,134. 5.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners set a $330.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $355.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.38.

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.