Westpac Banking Corp Buys Shares of 10,214 Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Westpac Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,214 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,773,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Korea Investment CORP bought a new position in Natera during the second quarter valued at $19,779,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,080,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Natera during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Natera during the second quarter worth about $40,419,000. Finally, Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter worth about $11,177,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NTRA opened at $332.03 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.39. The company has a market capitalization of $47.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -244.14 and a beta of 1.51. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $157.43 and a 1-year high of $333.56.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative net margin of 7.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $752.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.74) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on NTRA shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Natera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Natera in a report on Monday, August 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Natera from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $330.00 price target on Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.38.

Insider Activity at Natera

In related news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was 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 represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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, insider John Fesko sold 295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.99, for a total value of $79,057.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 183,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,249,594.26. This represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 181,045 shares of company stock worth $41,330,968. Corporate insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Natera Company 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.