Board of Trustees of The Leland Stanford Junior University Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Board of Trustees of The Leland Stanford Junior University purchased a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 31,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,171,000. Natera comprises approximately 1.4% of Board of Trustees of The Leland Stanford Junior University’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,944,800,000 after buying an additional 1,225,420 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $545,624,000 after buying an additional 72,087 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 727,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,644 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $596,078,000 after buying an additional 11,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 1.7% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,451,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $394,663,000 after buying an additional 41,303 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total transaction of $9,089,637.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,035,465.29. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total transaction of $693,564.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 142,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,984,068.55. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 have sold a total of 159,378 shares of company stock valued at $34,640,860 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of Natera stock opened at $216.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $206.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.69. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.81 and a 1 year high of $256.36. The stock has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a PE ratio of -133.11 and a beta of 1.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on NTRA. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Natera from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.53.

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.