DNB Asset Management AS Sells 14,135 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

DNB Asset Management AS decreased its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,790 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 14,135 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Natera were worth $5,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Natera by 9.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,628,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,871,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,129 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Natera by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $545,624,000 after purchasing an additional 72,087 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Natera by 37.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $428,987,000 after purchasing an additional 727,366 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 1.7% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,451,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $394,663,000 after purchasing an additional 41,303 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 39.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,400,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $386,338,000 after purchasing an additional 673,315 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total value of $594,781.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,293,298.34. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.14, for a total value of $1,191,769.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 150,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,777,983.66. This represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,266 shares of company stock worth $7,747,808. 5.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $192.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $27.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -118.12 and a beta of 1.57. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.81 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $200.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.27.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 9.05%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. William Blair started coverage on Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their target price on Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.60.

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.