Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 36.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 16,142 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Natera were worth $12,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Natera in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,981,000. Systrade AG acquired a new position in Natera during the fourth quarter worth about $11,454,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Natera during the third quarter worth about $1,069,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 5.7% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 159,166 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,621,000 after purchasing an additional 8,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,825,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $261.91 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.81 and a 12-month high of $271.47. The company has a market cap of $37.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -160.68 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $212.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, May 8th. William Blair initiated coverage on Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Natera in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Roelof Botha sold 78,000 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total value of $17,184,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,076,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $237,097,181.38. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total transaction of $2,389,310.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,183 shares in the company, valued at $1,343,009.43. This trade represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 178,872 shares of company stock worth $39,415,896 over the last ninety days. 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.