MidFirst Bank Invests $523,000 in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,284 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 worth $2,944,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,420 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in 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 valued at $1,140,026,000 after buying an additional 2,420,263 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Natera by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,389,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $545,624,000 after buying an additional 72,087 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $428,987,000 after buying an additional 727,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 1,446.1% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,633,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $603,270,000 after buying an additional 2,463,008 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on NTRA shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.53.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.03, for a total transaction of $9,089,637.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,035,465.29. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.31, for a total value of $17,184,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 162,342 shares of company stock valued at $35,283,396 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRA opened at $231.41 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.81 and a 12-month high of $256.36. The stock has a market cap of $33.14 billion, a PE ratio of -141.97 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $208.20 and a 200-day moving average of $215.52.

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.