Park Avenue Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,029 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,525,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Natera in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Natera by 117.8% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Natera during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Natera by 114.8% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Natera by 83.5% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $163.66 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.27 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $158.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.85. The company has a market cap of $22.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.69 and a beta of 1.68.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $268.00 target price on Natera and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $183.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.88.

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.46, for a total transaction of $105,401.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 152,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,746,048.62. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.62, for a total transaction of $499,860.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 120,859 shares in the company, valued at $20,137,526.58. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,423 shares of company stock worth $8,459,656 in the last 90 days. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.