AGF Management Ltd. Sells 6,300 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

AGF Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 46.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,300 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Natera were worth $1,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NTRA. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 95.7% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hilltop National Bank increased its stake in shares of Natera by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 310 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Natera by 256.8% in the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 314 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, AXS Investments LLC purchased a new position in Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 4,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.77, for a total transaction of $1,090,388.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 123,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,420,710.12. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 3,594 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.02, for a total transaction of $830,285.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 178,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,140,272.62. This trade represents a 1.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 455,899 shares of company stock worth $106,475,440. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Natera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory/catalyst: Natera submitted a PMA to the FDA for Signatera CDx to detect minimal residual disease in bladder cancer after positive phase‑3 results — a potential pathway to a companion‑diagnostic revenue stream and better reimbursement/clinical adoption if approved. Natera files Signatera CDx PMA (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Routine insider trims: Several non‑executive insiders (e.g., Solomon Moshkevich, John Fesko) sold modest, single‑digit percentages of their positions; these look like routine liquidity actions but add incremental supply. InsiderTrades report on recent sales
• Negative Sentiment: Material CEO sale: CEO Steven Chapman sold 85,299 shares (~40% reduction) on Feb 2 for roughly $19.7M — a large, high‑visibility block that investors commonly view as a negative signal and that likely amplified downward pressure. CEO Form 4 (SEC)
• Negative Sentiment: Additional executive selling: CEO Chapman sold another 4,725 shares (Feb 3) and CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 6,939 shares (Feb 3), further trimming insider ownership and reinforcing near‑term selling pressure. CEO additional Form 4 CFO Form 4 (SEC)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Natera from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.20.

Natera Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $197.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $234.15 and a 200 day moving average of $195.75. The stock has a market cap of $27.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -86.06 and a beta of 1.64. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.38 and a 12 month high of $256.36.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $592.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.55 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 14.61% and a negative return on equity of 25.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.26) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.