AlphaQuest LLC Raises Stock Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 1,857.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 274 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Natera were worth $39,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,393,827 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,752,611,000 after buying an additional 77,357 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Natera by 56.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,537,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,490,144,000 after buying an additional 3,795,315 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Natera by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,361,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,041,055,000 after buying an additional 660,538 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Natera by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,035,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $287,908,000 after buying an additional 245,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in Natera by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $215,127,000 after purchasing an additional 80,865 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.77, for a total transaction of $500,310.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 130,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,714,287.85. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 4,299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total transaction of $719,480.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,118 shares in the company, valued at $1,358,628.48. This trade represents a 34.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,344 shares of company stock worth $7,771,750. Insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on NTRA shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Natera to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $183.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.00.

Natera Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $166.56 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.57 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.92. The stock has a market cap of $22.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.20 and a beta of 1.68.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative net margin of 12.89% and a negative return on equity of 22.22%. The business had revenue of $546.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.30) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. Natera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Natera Profile

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.