Encore Global Management LP Invests $1.63 Million in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Encore Global Management LP purchased a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,629,000. Natera makes up approximately 1.6% of Encore Global Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Natera in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Natera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Natera in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $310.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on shares of Natera in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natera

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 41,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,743 shares in the company, valued at $24,035,465.29. This trade represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total value of $905,627.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 129,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,264,866.02. This trade represents a 2.57% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 181,045 shares of company stock worth $41,330,968. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Natera Trading Up 2.2%

NTRA opened at $332.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.86 billion, a PE ratio of -244.14 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $157.43 and a twelve month high of $333.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $274.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $229.39.

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 firm had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.74) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share 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.