Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $56.41 Million Stock Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 46,800 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.15% of Natera worth $56,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRA. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Natera during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 132.9% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Natera

In other Natera news, insider John Fesko sold 295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.99, for a total transaction of $79,057.05. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 183,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,249,594.26. This represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.39, for a total transaction of $819,415.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,897 shares in the company, valued at $26,611,561.83. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968 in the last three months. Company insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Natera Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $318.35 on Tuesday. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.38 and a 12-month high of $326.03. The company has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -234.08 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.32.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.82%. The company had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.74) earnings per share. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Natera in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Natera in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.90.

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.