Csenge Advisory Group Takes Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,672 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Natera during the second quarter valued at about $2,962,770,000. Coatue Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,463,008 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 worth $1,140,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420,263 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter worth about $372,398,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Natera by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,854,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,944,800,000 after buying an additional 1,225,420 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Natera from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Natera from $220.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.38.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $325.07 on Thursday. Natera, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.71 and a fifty-two week high of $326.03. The company has a market cap of $46.86 billion, a PE ratio of -239.02 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.01.

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

Insider Activity at Natera

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total transaction of $905,627.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 129,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,264,866.02. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total transaction of $131,077.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,159,898.14. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold a total of 181,045 shares of company stock worth $41,330,968 in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.