Natera, Inc. $NTRA Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its holdings in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 52,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,777 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Natera were worth $8,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Natera by 95.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the third quarter worth $46,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth $53,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natera by 256.8% during the second quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 314 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on NTRA. BNP Paribas Exane raised Natera to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Natera from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Stephens upped their target price on Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Natera from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.20.

Natera Trading Down 1.8%

Natera stock opened at $235.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $32.63 billion, a PE ratio of -103.03 and a beta of 1.62. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.38 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.03.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 1,590 shares of Natera stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $373,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 219,150 shares in the company, valued at $51,500,250. The trade was a 0.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.54, for a total value of $9,016,424.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,552,392.42. The trade was a 36.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 499,569 shares of company stock valued at $111,419,899 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

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.