iA Global Asset Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 6,659 Natera, Inc. $NTRA

iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,659 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Natera by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 850 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the third quarter worth $2,607,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natera during the third quarter valued at $34,096,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Natera by 15.9% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 139,802 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,504,000 after acquiring an additional 19,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 64.2% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Natera

Here are the key news stories impacting Natera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Peer‑reviewed clinical validation: Natera published clinical validation of its Latitude™ tissue‑free MRD test in colorectal cancer, boosting the credibility of a higher‑value oncology product that could support future revenue and reimbursement expansion. Clinical validation article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Multiple sell‑side firms have raised price targets and the consensus remains a “Moderate Buy” with an implied target around the mid‑$200s, providing medium‑term bullish backing for the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fund positioning note: A Voya MidCap Opportunities investor letter and related coverage highlight that lack of exposure to Natera hurt that fund’s Q4 performance — a sign NTRA was a notable outperformer for some mid‑cap portfolios but not a direct company catalyst. Voya fund note
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed fundamentals & ownership: Recent quarter showed strong revenue growth (~35% YoY) but continued GAAP losses; institutional ownership is extremely high (~99.9%), which reduces free float and can both support and cap volatility depending on flows.
• Negative Sentiment: Clustered insider selling — material: CEO Steven Chapman, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy and other insiders executed large sales on Jan. 20–21 (CEO sale ~71.9k shares; CFO sales totaling ~61k+ shares across days), representing sizable reductions in holdings and increasing perceived near‑term supply pressure. CEO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider sales: Multiple smaller insider transactions (e.g., Solomon Moshkevich) were also reported, reinforcing the market perception of insider liquidity taking and adding downward pressure. InsiderTrades coverage

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Natera in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.50.

Natera Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $241.58 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.38 and a twelve month high of $256.36. The stock has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.49 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $234.18 and its 200-day moving average is $191.40.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $592.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.55 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 25.07% and a negative net margin of 14.61%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.26) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total transaction of $9,016,424.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,552,392.42. This trade represents a 36.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Fesko sold 339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $79,665.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 177,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,654,220. This trade represents a 0.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 514,562 shares of company stock worth $114,292,421. 5.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.