Natera, Inc. $NTRA Position Reduced by Bank of Hawaii

Bank of Hawaii reduced its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,835 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,072 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii’s holdings in Natera were worth $2,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Natera by 2.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,676,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,141,594,000 after purchasing an additional 282,826 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Natera by 9.4% during 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 buying an additional 1,003,129 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Natera by 37.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 7.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,552,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $430,640,000 after acquiring an additional 166,768 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 44.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,750 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $291,717,000 after acquiring an additional 532,769 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $144,319.91. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 189,199 shares in the company, valued at $38,621,191.87. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $160,242.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 63,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,932,452.02. This represents a 1.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 318,222 shares of company stock valued at $74,068,068 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $187.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.62 billion, a PE ratio of -122.78 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.38 and a 1 year high of $256.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.14.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. The company had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.47.

Natera 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.