Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Acquires New Shares in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 47,754 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,753,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 434 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,113,000. Williamson Legacy Group LLC lifted its holdings in Natera by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 8,994 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $616,000. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $167.96 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $158.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.53. The company has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -114.26 and a beta of 1.74. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.14 and a 12 month high of $183.00.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $501.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.68 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 10.36% and a negative return on equity of 18.29%. The company’s revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.56) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 9,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.41, for a total value of $1,323,614.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,541 shares in the company, valued at $29,417,799.81. This represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total transaction of $657,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $937,965.76. This represents a 41.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,755 shares of company stock worth $8,898,589. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NTRA. Barclays upped their price objective on Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Natera from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Natera from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Natera in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.63.

About Natera

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.