Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 593,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 165,275 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $95,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NTRA. CI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 6.6% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 54,146 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,716,000 after buying an additional 3,343 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,610,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Natera by 72.3% during the third quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,540 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 4,421 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Natera by 15.4% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 16,758 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares during the period. Finally, Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its position in Natera by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRA. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Natera from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Natera from $218.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total transaction of $9,016,424.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 64,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,552,392.42. This represents a 36.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Herm Rosenman sold 48,419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.42, for a total value of $11,011,448.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,342 shares in the company, valued at $4,626,177.64. This trade represents a 70.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 367,669 shares of company stock worth $85,584,453 in the last three months. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

Natera stock opened at $203.03 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.38 and a fifty-two week high of $256.36. The company has a market capitalization of $28.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -132.70 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $224.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.76.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.68 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.41) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS 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.