Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Purchased by Castle Hook Partners LP

Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,167,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 420,621 shares during the period. Natera accounts for 2.1% of Castle Hook Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Castle Hook Partners LP’s holdings in Natera were worth $496,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Natera during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its holdings in Natera by 103.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Natera during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gail Boxer Marcus sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total value of $2,389,310.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,009.43. This represents a 64.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.43, for a total transaction of $655,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 137,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,065,360.49. The trade was a 2.13% 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. Insiders sold 162,342 shares of company stock worth $35,283,396 in the last 90 days. 5.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Natera in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.53.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $226.44 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $207.35 and its 200-day moving average is $215.50. The stock has a market cap of $32.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -138.92 and a beta of 1.56. Natera, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.81 and a 52-week high of $256.36.

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.