Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Takes $492,000 Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,814 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth $30,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the third quarter valued at $32,000. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRA opened at $325.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.86 billion, a PE ratio of -239.02 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $269.73 and a 200 day moving average of $228.01. Natera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.71 and a 1 year high of $326.03.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.74) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total transaction of $131,077.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,159,898.14. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.39, for a total value of $819,415.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,611,561.83. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 worth $41,330,968 over the last ninety days. 5.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Natera from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Natera from $249.00 to $363.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.38.

Natera Company 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.