Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 1,956 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,927 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,956 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Natera were worth $9,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Natera by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Natera by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,976,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,140,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420,263 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Natera by 2.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 37.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 1,446.1% during the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $603,270,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NTRA. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research set a $275.00 price objective on Natera and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. William Blair started coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Natera in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total value of $9,089,637.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at $24,035,465.29. The trade was a 27.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total transaction of $17,184,180.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,076,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $237,097,181.38. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 175,872 shares of company stock worth $38,808,996 in the last 90 days. 5.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

NTRA stock opened at $279.32 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $219.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.32. Natera, Inc. has a one year low of $131.81 and a one year high of $279.63. The company has a market capitalization of $40.00 billion, a PE ratio of -171.36 and a beta of 1.51.

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.