Meridiem Capital Partners LP Invests $11.90 Million in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Meridiem Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 73,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,900,000. Meridiem Capital Partners LP owned about 0.05% of Natera as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Natera by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,625,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,795,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263,822 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $277,749,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 37.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,665,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $428,987,000 after buying an additional 727,366 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Natera by 44.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,750 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $291,717,000 after buying an additional 532,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Natera by 118.3% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 572,832 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $96,774,000 after acquiring an additional 310,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Fesko sold 17,806 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.74, for a total value of $4,179,780.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 177,591 shares in the company, valued at $41,687,711.34. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 37,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,552,392.42. The trade was a 36.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 318,222 shares of company stock valued at $74,068,068 over the last three months. 5.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 135,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,174,872. The stock has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -124.31 and a beta of 1.65. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.38 and a 12 month high of $256.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.96.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.81. Natera had a negative return on equity of 15.28% and a negative net margin of 9.03%.The business had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.41) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NTRA shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. 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 research report on Monday, December 15th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Natera from $197.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Natera from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.47.

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.