Swedbank AB Purchases 3,014 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Swedbank AB grew its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,184 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Natera were worth $11,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,871,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Natera by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $545,624,000 after buying an additional 72,087 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $428,987,000 after buying an additional 727,366 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,451,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $394,663,000 after buying an additional 41,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $386,338,000 after buying an additional 673,315 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. William Blair assumed coverage on Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.60.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, insider John Fesko sold 291 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $59,992.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 187,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,597,275.20. This trade represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 902 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $185,956.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,896,580.72. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 38,266 shares of company stock valued at $7,747,808 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $200.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $201.43 and a 200-day moving average of $215.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -123.26 and a beta of 1.57. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 9.05%.During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.41) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.