Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 23.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 171,151 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 52,312 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.12% of Natera worth $34,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Natera by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 244 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Natera by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Natera by 5.5% in the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 982 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in shares of Natera by 3.1% during the third quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,804 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NTRA opened at $267.18 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.83. The company has a market capitalization of $38.26 billion, a PE ratio of -163.91 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $288.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Natera from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research lowered Natera from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on Natera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.90, for a total transaction of $818,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 134,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,744,074.70. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total value of $9,089,637.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,035,465.29. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 178,872 shares of company stock valued at $39,627,696 in the last quarter. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

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.