KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires 3,500 Shares of Natera, Inc. $NTRA

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Natera were worth $7,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 2.3% during 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Natera by 44.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,795,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263,822 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Natera by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,552,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $430,640,000 after buying an additional 166,768 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,937,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,346,000 after buying an additional 330,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Natera by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,750 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $291,717,000 after buying an additional 532,769 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Roelof Botha sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.12, for a total transaction of $17,709,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,154,198 shares in the company, valued at $272,529,231.76. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Roy D. Baynes sold 7,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.08, for a total transaction of $1,710,577.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,525.72. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 343,280 shares of company stock valued at $73,566,011 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.18.

Natera Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $234.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.41 billion, a PE ratio of -102.32 and a beta of 1.62. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.38 and a 1-year high of $256.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $227.04 and a 200-day moving average of $186.09.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by ($0.25). Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The company had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.26) earnings per share. Natera’s revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.